Mortal Kombat New Era
by HeavyWeather
Summary: Taking place after the events of Mortal Kombat 11, the story of Mortal Kombat New Era involves the new age, after Kronika had reset the timelines. Liu Kang, alongside Kitana, now shapes the sands of time and watches over Earthrealm. However, while they oversee things, who's to say history won't repeat itself? The original characters reborn, in a new yet familiar story. The new era.
1. The New Era

Within a jungle, a large battle was going on, something powerful between two mighty warriors.

"Ha!" A warrior shouted, firing off a blast of flames.

A woman fell to the ground, grunting in pain. She wore a glossy robe with a shining headpiece, having blue eyes and no hair.

"It's over Kronika. Your war shall not continue on."

"Fight me further Liu Kang, and your friends shall be lost to time. They have no future without ME to create it!" She said, growling at him.

"The future you desire is not worth living! It will not come to pass!" He shouted.

As the woman, Kronika, stood up, he shouted, firing off a dragon-shaped blast of fire at her.

She stumbled backwards, grunting.

This man was named Liu Kang, a Shaolin warrior from this timeline who had gained the powers of the God of Thunder, or rather, the protector of Earthrealm, a man named Raiden. Gaining these powers, he became the God of Fire. Currently, this battle was against a woman named Kronika, who intends to erase all of the timelines and create an entirely new era, a new timeline.

"You cannot fight back! The New Era is beginning, my age! Without me, no one has a destiny!"

Liu Kang spun, firing off another ball of flames, knocking her against a tree.

"Someone can, and will, replace you!" He shouted, and with that, he barraged her with so many flames, that with his power, she had turned into a statue of red, frozen glass.

Liu Kang looked towards her, walking forward.

First, he broke both of her hands off, then with an angered shout, he spun up, kicking her head right off, her glass head hitting the ground and shattering into many shards.

With a gentle push, he knocked her frozen body over, so it broke apart upon hitting the dirt.

He chuckled a slight bit, but then heard a voice, a familiar one.

"You have done well, Liu Kang. Our work is finished here."

The God of Fire turned, seeing his ally, Raiden, but he was a normal human now, not the God of Thunder.

"Lord Raiden... I..."

"It's merely Raiden now. You're my successor as Earthrealm's new guardian, because you have proven yourself worthy, Lord Liu Kang."

Liu Kang looked out upon the sky, sighing.

"Where do we go from here? Kronika has already reset the timelines... everyone will be disappearing soon."

"The sands of time are yours to shape Lord Liu Kang, you must return the Hourglass of Time to the very dawn of it all, and then, you will sculpt a new history, one that won't end up like this." Raiden said.

"What? The fates of all of the realms... in my hands? I... can't do this on my own!" Liu Kang said.

"That's why, you must choose a partner. Someone you can trust to share all of the oncoming eons with you."

Liu Kang thought a bit, then he smiled.

"Kitana..."

"Hm. You two have always had intertwined destinies. Go find her, before it's too late, and recreate this world. Now, I look forward to meeting you once more, in the next timeline."

Liu Kang smiled at his former master, looking up.

"Then I will not say... goodbye."

He vanished, flying through the sky with fire along his body.

* * *

Liu Kang stood at the very edge of time, the Hourglass of Time behind him.

As he looked out upon the void of time itself, a woman came up beside him, wearing a blue ribbon to tie her hair and a royal blue outfit, having two fans on her back.

She grasped his hand as he looked at her with a smile.

"Kitana... are you ready?" He said as the original timeline began to fade.

"Yes. But no matter how we sculpt this new history, we cannot plan for every possibility. Mortals will make their own choices, new evils will arise." Kitana, the woman, spoke.

"Right. Each realm will choose their own destiny. Whatever may come, we shall face what happens, together."

As they embraced, the old timeline was completely erased, and now, it was time for the New Era.

* * *

So, within the New Era, the original realms were crafted once more, along with the civilizations living within them. Earthrealm, Outworld, Edenia, Orderrealm, Chaosrealm, Dreamrealm, Heaven, the Netherrealm, and so many more. Though, history began to repeat itself in subtle ways.

At some point, a warrior named The Great Kung Lao had competed in a Shaolin tournament. However, like in the original timeline, a man named Shang Tsung and a four armed creature from Outworld named Goro had appeared. Goro fought in the tournament and killed The Great Kung Lao, and for five hundred years, he reigned the champion.

Shang Tsung had devised a plan, this was to tip the balance of everything, through Mortal Kombat.

However, just like history repeating itself, a fighter arose.

His name, was Kung Lao, a descendant of the great warrior who was killed by Goro so long ago. And his mentor, was the man Raiden, but not the one Liu Kang knew, a regular version of Raiden.

Kung Lao wore a rounded razor-rimmed hat and a traditional warrior monk's garb.

"So, for this tournament, we'll need to board a ship, correct Raiden?" Kung Lao asked, holding a bag over his shoulders.

"Yes. You'll be fighting for Earthrealm, as a member of the White Lotus Society, to protect us." Raiden said, waving towards a harbor.

"Earthrealm, right. So, the other realms, do you think they'll be competing too?"

"It's most likely... but for now, that's all you need to know. You should board the ship now, it'll take you to the island."

"Aren't you gonna fight alongside me?" Kung Lao asked.

"No. I'm simply your teacher. I believe in you Kung Lao, win this, so that we may have peace."

The warrior gave him a thumbs up, boarding the boat with his stuff.

At the same time, others had arrived as well, all familiar faces from the original timeline. However, some people had ceased to exist from that one, such as a man named Kano, but in his place, was the NEW leader of a mercenary group named Black Dragon. His name was Jarek, with him was his second in command, Tremor and a woman named Kira, coming to compete. And then, a movie star named Johnny Cage and a woman who goes by the name of Sonya Blade. There were many more as well, but these were the ones on this boat.


	2. Chapter 1 - Shang Tsung's Island

Liu Kang meditated on a mountain, but he slowly opened his eyes, Kitana walking towards him.

"What brings you here, Queen of Outworld?"

"Shang Tsung has been hosting several tournaments, just like in our timeline, however, he does not have Shao Kahn here to order him around. He's making choices for himself and is hosting the TENTH Mortal Kombat Tournament in this timeline. If Outworld wins... Earthrealm is doomed."

"You're his queen. Why have you been letting him do this Kitana?" Liu Kang questioned.

"Because I know Earthrealm will not lose. History may repeat itself in some ways, but we remember that you won the tenth tournament in the original history. With the absence of a few people like Kano and Shao Kahn as won, the warriors of Earthrealm stand a chance, and besides, this tournament will bring them together. After all, we know what happened to our own time, so what will happen if they never meet?"

"Good choice then, as always Kitana. Tell me... do you know if Raiden will be there?"

"I'm unsure, but I believe one thing. If the reincarnations of our friends exist, that means the likes of Kung Lao, Johnny Cage, Scorpion and others will most likely be sent there to fight."

"Then we should go, just in case. After all, you're the queen, Shang Tsung should allow you to supervise, and me as well as Earthrealm's guardian." Liu Kang said, standing up and walking past her.

"Right... we can't back out now that the tournament has been declared, so let's make haste for Shang Tsung's island."

* * *

On the boat, Kung Lao looked out among the sea, daydreaming.

Johnny Cage walked over to him, looking up at the sky.

"Hey, cool outfit man." Johnny said, putting on his sunglasses.

Kung Lao looked at him. He had his own named tattooed on his chest with black wristguards, black jeans, and a golden belt.

"You are..?"

"Really? You don't know me? I'm the greatest Hollywood superstar is all, Johnny Cage. I should be wondering who you are my fighting friend.

"My name is Kung Lao. I'm a member of the White Lotus Society, I came here to fight and win in the tournament."

"Kung Lao? You mean like, that ancient fighter guy? I'm guessing you're related to him somehow huh."

Kung Lao nodded as Johnny turned, checking out the woman named Sonya Blade, pulling his glasses down slightly.

"She's a good one." He said, grinning.

"I'm focusing on the tournament, not on women."

"Okay true, but still, you could at least give her a look."

"Sorry, but I'll pass. So, Mr. Superstar, why don't you and I form an alliance for Earthrealm? After all, we're working to protect it right?"

"Earthrealm? I'm not really sure what you're talking about, but I guess yeah, we could align you know?"

Afterwords though, Johnny flashed a smile at Sonya, trying to hit on her. She made a disgusted face, looking away.

Meanwhile, Tremor was being watched by eyes. He was a giant, having a body that seemed like stone itself, wearing an orangish brown garb with a steel mask over his nose and mouth. He even had glowing yellow eyes.

The person watching him was Sonya Blade.

"So he's a member of Black Dragon huh... I know Jax faced off with him once before... tch... Jax. He's the only reason I'm here, getting himself kidnapped. I'll probably have to watch out for that big guy though... he might recognize me as an ally of him."

Soon enough, the boat arrived on the island, masked guards taking their stuff and leading them to the main area.

As they were all escorted to a small little arena, Shang Tsung, the host of the tournament, had appeared in front of a throne.

Around it were several other fighters. Beside Shang Tsung was a woman with a skimpy green outfit, dark skin, and a pole, named Jade, who was baring an extremely serious look. Nearby were three fighters wearing ninja-like outfits. The one in front of them had a blue and black outfit, his face completely concealed. To his right was an African-American man with a yellow headband and a yellow outfit, having his hair tied together and beside him was a man wearing black and red clothing with a black beard and a ponytail. On his right pectoral was a symbol of a clan, their clan, the Lin Kuei.

Watching them was a man wearing a similar outfit with pure white eyes. His clothing was gold and black, holding a chain in his hands, staring at the blue one with malice in his eyes.

"Calm yourself Scorpion..." A person beside him said, having skin as white as snow with strange armor and a red symbol on his forehead, along with black around his eyes.

"Welcome all of you, to the tenth Mortal Kombat Tournament between Outworld and Earthrealm. You will all compete to the decide the fate of Earthrealm, and I will be the final challenge..."

"That old geezer's the final challenge? They might as well give me the belt right now. They have belts right?" Johnny Cage had said to a guard next to him.

Shang Tsung heard his remark, grinning.

"Right... we shall have an introduction fight right now, Johnny Cage versus my warrior, Reptile!"

Johnny Cage chuckled, winking at Sonya as he cracked his knuckles, walking up.

"I got this..." He said.

The guards brought in a strange, green-skinned reptilian being who was bound in chains. They released him from the chains as he walked forward, lifting his mask to hack up green sludge.

"Cool actor, but I'm cooler."

Reptile began to speak, a hiss coming from his voice.

"When I'm through with you... you'll be nothing but bones in melted skin!" Reptile exclaimed, shooting acid from his mouth.

"Cool special effects, but to counter that, I'm gonna say one thing. Everything that's about to happen, I AM my special effects!"

"What a dumbass. He's not gonna win." Kira said, standing in front of Tremor, Jarek by her side.

"Begin!" Shang Tsung shouted as Reptile dashed towards Johnny. He flipped through the air, kicking him in the jawline.

"Hey! Watch the face!" Johnny said, pointing to his jaw as he ran forward, dropping down, trying to trip the Outworld enemy.

Reptile jumped into the air, however, he had figured that would happen, so he flipped right back up, slamming his boot into his back.

The reptillian warrior slammed onto the ground, grunting. He got up, firing an acid blast at Johnny, burning right through his wrist guards.

"Ngh! That's actually burning! What'd they give you, scalding water with food dye?"

Johnny ran forward again, but his body suddenly flashed green as he moved faster, or rather, moved closer, surprising some of the people in the crowd. He landed a punch, striking Reptile so hard that he went flying out of the arena and onto the floor, grunting.

Johnny wiped his thumb along his cheek, jumping in place like a boxer.

"That'll show you, but nice costume. Could use some work though."

Then, another fighter leapt into the arena behind him.

"The second introductory match. Since you beat Reptile, you will go up against Baraka, Mr. Cage."

The new fighter had sharp blades within his wrists, a mouth that looked like a shark and he had golden eyes with a bald head and a warrior's garb. He let out a fierce roar towards Johnny.

Meanwhile, the one known as Jarek was watching Sonya, wearing red armor, holding a red axe. He had a black beard and sharp black hair, feeling like he knew her from somewhere.

Flames exploded nearby on the island, Liu Kang appearing with Kitana, the two of them walking through a forestial area.

"We aren't too late. I remember, this is the first one. I want to speak with the fighters of this first tournament. After all, some will change."

"Right. Without me there, Jade isn't who she was. She's most likely changed a bit in personality. Though, I am glad that without me being there, Mileena will not come to exist." Kitana spoke.

"What about Skarlet? Do you know of anyone else who will cease to exist or continue existing?" Liu Kang asked.

"Although Skarlet was originally made by Shao Kahn, I do not doubt that Shang Tsung will create her so that he can have another warrior, to replace me effectively. Can we prevent the death of Bi-Han?"

"Not exactly. Quan Chi most likely still exists, he'll have brought Scorpion to the tournament like before, and fueled by rage from himself with the illusory tactics of Quan Chi, I do not know if we can stop Bi-Han's death without fighting Scorpion."

"So what will we do? Are we going to save the elder Sub-Zero? Or will we let that part of time flow as per normal?" Kitana questioned, walking in front of him.

"We will try to prevent Bi-Han's fate, however, in order to ensure Earthrealm's safety, we should do our best to stop the Lin Kuei. Sektor may want to make himself cybernetic, but I know Cyrax does not. We will save Cyrax, Sub-Zero, and Smoke together."

"Okay. I'll go along with that... so long as you know what you're doing."

The two of them walked down the mountain they were on, headed to the arena.


	3. Chapter 2 - The Challenges Presented

Johnny chuckled.

"Nice make-up, who did it? And those things in your wrists, they look so cool!"

Baraka growled, "I will skin you alive actor!"

Blades tore out of Baraka's wrists, Johnny gasping.

"THAT'S SO COOL!"

"Begin!" Shang Tsung said.

Baraka swung at Johnny, cutting his chest a bit before jumping up, performing a drop-kick to his face, knocking him down.

"Ngh! Not... the... FACE!"

Johnny's sunglasses were broken, so he took them off, pulling a new pair out of his pocket and slipping them on.

He ran forward, performing a fast split and striking Baraka in the balls before scooting back up and laughing at him.

Baraka held that area in pain as he growled with fury in his voice, swinging both arms at him, his blades nearly stabbing Johnny.

"Getting a little too close for comfort buddy!"

Cage spun around, kicking Baraka in the jaw, the latter retracting his blades and blocking the attack. He struck Johnny in the gut, grabbing his wrist and bending it, flipping him over.

"Ngh! Damn! Mind not being so rough!"

Johnny said, gripping his hand, using it to flip himself over, allowing for him to suddenly slammed his boot into Baraka's face, knocking him backwards before letting go. Johnny landed on the ground, spinning, grinning.

"Though, to be fair, I was already being rough."

He jumped in place like a boxer as Baraka rubbed his face, Johnny suddenly zipped forward and kicking him in the nose.

Upon being struck, Baraka's right arm blade shot out, cutting Cage along the torso.

"Ngh!"

"I'm going to rip you apart and pin you onto my wall using the very blades of a tarkatan warrior!" Baraka shouted out, Johnny rubbing the cut on his chest.

"Not unless I do so first, although, I don't know what a tarkatan is, so, I'll do it with a pin!"

He lunged forward, ducking down and sliding, shooting his leg up with a strong spin, finishing Baraka off with a kick to the lower jaw.

As the fight finished, Baraka laid on the ground, grunting as Johnny walked over to him, "Love your makeup. You should talk to my producer. We're doing Tommy Scissorhands and-"

"Kill him!" Shang Tsung shouted out, Johnny looking over to him.

"Yeah right. Show's over."

But Shang Tsung was serious, as was everyone else around.

"Wait... you... you're kidding right? I'm not gonna kill him, I don't want to kill anybody."

"Fine then. Guards, escort Baraka off the stage, Mr. Cage, you proved well..."

Johnny was nervous. They actually wanted him to kill someone. He was a little scared now as he walked off of the arena.

"Johnny, do you have any idea what you're participating in?" Kung Lao asked, walking towards him.

"It's just a fighting tournament for some show right? That's all."

"No. This is a fight for our realm. This is the fight for the fate of our world, Earthrealm, in a tournament known as Mortal Kombat set up by the gods themselves. That man you fought was a tarkatan, he was born with those blades."

"Earthrealm? Gods? Look, that blade guy was a little cool, but I'm not too sure on what type of roleplaying you're into here. Anyways, I'm gonna go check out a blonde, so I'll see you later."

Johnny walked away, Kung Lao crossing his arms, "He's a little arrogant..."

Then, a voice was heard, "Just like you Kung Lao."

The Shaolin turned around, spotting Liu Kang, floating down.

"Woah! Who are you?!"

"Tell me Kung Lao. You're being trained by Raiden, correct? You know of the existence of gods."

"Yes... but what's it to you?"

"I'm the Fire God, Liu Kang. I'm here to prevent disastrous events from happening."

"Disastrous events? Like what?"

"I can't tell you simply, however, I know I will prevent them."

Meanwhile, Scorpion was getting anxious, so he went out onto the arena, roaring out to the other fighters.

"All of you! I demand a match! A match with Sub-Zero!"

Kung Lao and the others looked towards him. The monk was about to step up, however, Liu Kang stopped him.

"Do not indulge him. I want you to listen to me from this point onward Kung Lao."

Reluctantly, Lao agreed.

But then, a fighter stepped up, a woman. It was Jade, the girl wearing the skin-tight suit. She pulled out a green pole, flashes coming off of it as she stared at him.

"Fool... if you're looking for an opponent, I'm right here."

"Opponent? You're no opponent! You dare to mock me?!"

She ran right at him, jumping into the air, spinning the pole as it suddenly extended. She attempted to slam it onto his head, but he was able to avoid it, green energy exploding off of it as it hit the ground. He suddenly thrusted his right arm outwards, firing off a chain. It had pierced her arm, pulling her towards him as he jumped into the air, dropkicking her face.

She grunted from the pain, retracting her pole, hitting Scorpion on the ankles with it. Quan Chi looked on with anger, Scorpion was supposed to restrain himself!

Spinning his legs, he flipped Jade over, but she managed to hit him in the chest with a strong swing, extending her pole to push him away.

He rubbed his chest, putting his hands together, a flaming ball suddenly firing out, striking Jade and knocking her off of the arena.

"Come back when you bring me Sub-Zero!"

"I'm no Sub-Zero, however, I can fill his place."

Scorpion slowly turned around, seeing a muscular man with a ponytail, wearing a purple and golden armor.

Quan Chi was surprised, looking over at him.

"Isn't that... he's from Edenia... what's someone like him doing here? I don't think Shang Tsung recruited him."

"You still intend to mock me!? I'll bury you in this very arena!" Scorpion said, growling as he raised his fist for the fight.

"Neither of us will be buried, however, one will swim..." The purple fighter said, water slowly coming out of his palms.

Meanwhile, Sonya was out on a bridge above a spike pit, contacting someone.

"Come on... just respond already!" She said to herself, and so, Johnny was walking forward.

_"There's no island Sonya, we can't get to you."_

"There is, I'm standing on it! Come on, I need backup, they have Jax here and-"

"Need help? I specialize in rescuing damsels in distress." Johnny said.

"Look, I'm busy. I'm in no mood to be hit on by some actor."

As she began to walk away, Johnny said, "Look baby, I don't want to let you run loose without an escort in this freakshow."

She spun around, growling at him, jumping into the air to kick him onto the ground.

"I don't need an escort, and I'm definitely not your 'baby'." She said, getting in a fighting stance as Johnny stood up.

Meanwhile, the rocky-looking ninja from earlier was watching them. He had recognized Sonya's outfit, and was now ready to attack.

Johnny had to fight now, Sonya was serious. She ran right at him, jumping up and delivering a spin kick to his chest.

He stumbled backwards, performing a roundhouse kick to knock her down, but she caught herself on a handstand, flipping upwards into the air, elbowing his forehead.

Johnny rubbed his head, jumping in place to keep his body moving. "Not. The. Face." He said, shooting towards her, punching her a few times in the stomach before elbowing her shoulder to push her away.

Jumping upwards, she delivered a dive kick, hitting his cheek, grunting from the pain in her shoulder.

"I'll hit you wherever I want superstar." She responded.

She delivered a strong kick to his gut, hurting him, but then he put his hands together, sledgehammering her head with his fists.

Sonya collapsed, rolling onto the ground, groaning.

"Hehe. Not bad for a... girl. Look... sorry about that."

Cage put his hand out to her, but she slapped it away.

"I don't need your help..."

"Fine. I'm sorry. I'll just be on my way then and I'll leave you to it."

But then, the stone fighter came out behind him, picking him up by his arms.

"Good. Then I can have her to myself!" The fighter said, Johnny being surprised. He suddenly chucked the movie star off the side of the bridge.

"Ngh. No! Damn... you're Tremor, aren't you? Black Dragon..."

"That's correct. I overheard you mentioning the name Jax... now that I know you're really an ally of his, I'm going to kill you with these rock hard fists of mine..."

He pounded his knuckles together, a boom being heard as she slowly stood up.

"Those things... really are rock huh?"

But then, a yelp was heard, Johnny tossing himself back onto the bridge. He had caught himself on a stalagmite, using it to his advantage.

"Ngh... jackass! Thought you could rid yourself of me so easily huh?"

Tremor turned to face Johnny, growling at him, his piercing golden eyes shining.

"Foolish movie star... actors have no place in history, therefore, you will not be remembered soon after I kill you!"

"I'm not just some actor, okay Mr. Thing? I'm 100% the real deal..."


	4. Chapter 3 - The Arrival of Messengers

Tremor and Johnny faced one another, the Black Dragon member pounded both fists together, roaring out.

"Jeez. Got a temper huh? You should take a seat in a nice little rock-ing chair." Johnny said, jumping in place as he got ready.

Tremor kicked up the ground, punching a large rock towards Cage, who narrowly dodged it, his chest having been grazed by the rock. He jumped forward, rapidly punching his opponent on the chest, but not to much avail. His body really was hard like stone.

Tremor grabbed Johnny by the head, picking him up and slamming him into the ground, causing him to grunt in pain. Sonya got up, doing a split kick after jumping into the air, hitting Tremor in the back of the head, causing him to let go of Cage.

Sonya then flipped over to Johnny's side, taking on a stance.

"I may not need help, but you look like you do."

"Thanks babe."

The two of them moved in unison, kicking Tremor so hard that he fell onto his back.

"Hard as rock, but you know what they say, the bigger they are, the harder they fall, especially since you're a rock-man."

But then, Tremor began to get up to face the both of them slowly, cracking his neck as he stood over them.

"Again!" Sonya said, rushing in, punching their foe on the chest as Johnny moved forward, elbowing his ribs.

However, it was futile, Tremor punching Sonya onto her back hard as he suddenly slammed his forehead against Cage's knocking him onto the edge of the bridge they stood on.

"Get up. I'm not nearly done yet... I came for the woman of Special Forces, but I'll eliminate two... you'll be nothing but pebbles when I'm done with you!"

"What do you want with me?!"

"It's because of you that Kano, our former leader is gone. Black Dragon isn't the same without him, Jarek may be our new leader, however, he's not Kano. Shang Tsung had told me members of Special Forces would be here, which is why I had come along with Kira and Jarek to this miserable island! You're going to die on this bridge, right here, right now!"

Meanwhile, Scorpion faced off with the Edenian warrior, the two of them staring each other down.

"Who do you believe you are? You're no Sub-Zero!"

"That's correct. My name is Rain, I shall be the one to put you back within your place, wraith."

Behind them, a greenish skinned figure came over, picking Jade up, carrying her off somewhere.

"You'll burn in the Netherrealm!" Scorpion threatened, firing off a ball of flame at him, but Rain retaliated with a ball of water, fending the flames off with a clash. Before Scorpion could fight again, he created a ball of water around him, spinning and slamming him down. However, Scorpion raged out, the ball of water exploding as a burst of flames came from his body.

"GET OVER HERE!" Scorpion roared out, firing his chained spear towards his foe, piercing his arm, pulling him forward, uppercutting him into the air.

After being hit, Rain raised both hands up, a storm cloud appearing over Scorpion, shocking him. He shouted, firing a gush of water outwards, both the electricity and the liquid merging to damage him more.

Water formed on his foot as he ran forward, performing a fast capoeira kick, knocking his opponent to the edge of the arena.

Scorpion was angered, standing up. Flames formed on his feet as he ran forward, the very ground being seared beneath him as he jumped, kicking Rain in the chest, burning his skin. More flames formed on his arms. He caught Rain by the wrist, burning his wrist before slamming him into the ground, face first.

Rain got up, Scorpion attempting to intimidate him.

"Stand down now, and bring me Sub-Zero! Or else..."

Rain spun around, a large bubble of water forming around him.

"Scorpion! IF YOU REFUSE TO LISTEN..."

As the warrior attempted to break free, Rain generated a large cloud of storms, shocking the water bubble, along with Scorpion, greatly damaging him. The bubble popped as he dropped to the ground.

"Listen to me now. I came to challenge you, not just to beat you and quench your thirst, but rather to warn you. I'm not a fighter for Outworld, rather, the queen of Outworld herself has brought me to battle for Earthrealm, her name is Kitana Kahn. She is Edenian as well, so she found me within the realm of Outworld and took me to join her, along with a few others."

"Others..? What? What are you trying to warn me of?"

"The others will show their faces soon enough. According to her, she knows what will happen in the future, and she wishes to prevent an ultimate disaster. Because of that, she has brought me to tell you to spare Bi-Han, or rather, Sub-Zero. If you can resist your thirst for blood, please spare him, to prevent a greater evil from arising."

"A greater evil..? Fine... I will still challenge Sub-Zero, however, I will not kill him."

"Thank you Scorpion. Now, I must go find one of my two partners."

Rain walked past the warrior, heading off elsewhere, meanwhile, Scorpion walked away to a different area, his mind being slightly calmed. This Rain warrior was a good fight, and he was okay with the outcome, especially since he now knows that something dark would have come from him killing Sub-Zero.

Tremor grabbed Johnny's fist as the movie star attempted to attack him, slowly bending his wrist. He was going so far as to nearly break it, however, someone came over, grabbing Tremor in a full nelson, the Black Dragon member being surprised. The person turned, tossing Tremor right off the bridge, the latter letting out a scream as he fell off.

"Are you okay, Johnny Cage?" The person said.

Johnny looked towards him.

"I... you know my name huh? Maybe I should believe that stuff about Earthrealm and all of that now... you don't really look human. But thank you for the help."

The person was just as tall as Tremor, having bluish green skin with blue eyes and golden aztec-like armor.

"Don't thank me. My name is Kotal. I was asked to come here."

"And I came along as well..." Jade said, being behind him.

"Kotal? Who are you both?" Sonya asked, getting up and dusting herself off.

"Kotal, yes. I'm a general in the Outworldian army, lead by our queen Kitana. She had asked me to come help you."

"To help us? How did you know we would need help? And isn't she one of that old man's elite guards or something?" Sonya questioned again.

"I am, yes, but Kotal and I have known each other for a while, we met in Kitana's army. I hadn't seen him for a while though... so seeing him now was a surprise, but he told me I should probably join you two, or rather, join the fight for Earthrealm, to prevent something dark."

"So, are you two in a relationship or something? It seems like it, maybe? Or just old friends?" Johnny spoke.

"Something like that... we've known each other for a while, and we've built quite a bond. We met originally during a little thing where he was injured, before he joined Kitana's army. I was taking care of him, and we spoke together, and something began to emerge when he joined our fight and rose to be a general." Jade explained.

"Yes, but enough of that, we should go. Sonya Blade, you wish to find your friend, Jackson Briggs, am I right?" Kotal said, walking past all three of them, Jade following behind him.

"Yeah, why? You gonna help?"

"Yes. Jade and I will go searching. You should go back."

"Tch. I should be the one to go find him... but fine, you're capable, so I'll go." She said, turning away.

Jade grabbed onto Kotal's arm, the two walking together as Johnny and Sonya watched them leave.

"It's been a while since we've been together Kotal... like this..."

"It's a serious situation Jade, however, I agree. I've missed you, and I'm glad Kitana has brought me here to get you." He said.

"Right... well, then I'm heading back to the arena area." Sonya said, walking in the opposite direction.

"I'm coming along. Look, I know you said you didn't want an escort, but I want to hel-"

"It's fine Cage. You've proven yourself to me, okay?" She said, having a slight smile, walking ahead of him.

He grinned, pumping his fist behind her back before following after her.

Rain was walking off to meet with someone, all while the three members of the clan known as the Lin Kuei were gathering in Shang Tsung's main temple.

"Sektor, I'm a little worried."

"Why Cyrax? What troubles your mind?" His ally, Sektor said, while the third one, Sub-Zero, was looking out through a window.

"I don't want to go along with the Cyber Initiative. Isn't it wrong to just, steal away humanity like that? To become a cyborg?"

"Having trouble with morals? The decision was made by the grandmaster, and so, we will follow the orders of the Lin Kuei, this may have some benefits to become cybernetic super warriors!"

But then, Shang Tsung appeared beside Sub-Zero as the two of them conversed.

"Hm? Oh. Shang Tsung. What brings you here?"

"Sub-Zero. I request something of you. I can feel the presence, two fighters are headed to Goro's Lair. I'd like you to stop them in their tracks. I've already sent another fighter after them, someone you may know."

"Someone I may know?"

"A woman I had helped out, named Sareena..." Shang Tsung said.

"Sareena?! I know her, yes. But where is she now?"

"She's on her way there, to the cells in Goro's Lair. You'll meet her along the way."

"Right... then I'll go right away." Sub-Zero said, walking off elsewhere.


	5. Chapter 4 - Scorpion's Mistake and Jax

Jade had lead Kotal to Goro's Lair, where Jax was being held.

"So, this is where the Special Forces member is located?"

"Yes Kotal. This is where he keeps the prisoners he captures of course. He should be around somewhere."

The sun began to rise, the next day beginning, as not much sleep had been had, however, people continued with their own styles.

* * *

As the morning came, Sub-Zero was headed to Goro's Lair, but as he walked, a familiar face was ahead of him. She had black hair with the left side of her hair having a white streak in front. She wore black, leather stockings with a red and black waistcloth and a top of the same color that showed off her midriff, having black arm sleeves and such.

"Is that you? Sareena?" He said as she turned around, having black markings over her eyes, not recognizing him at first, but then she had looked over him once more, learning of who he was.

"Bi-Han? Shang Tsung had told me you were here, but I didn't believe it."

"I thought you were..."

"Trapped? I was freed when Scorpion and Quan Chi came to the tournament through using the a portal from the Netherrealm." She said, walking towards Bi-Han, putting her hand on his cheek.

"It's been a while... but wait, Scorpion came from the Netherrealm? So, he's an undead warrior in the tournament... but what brings you here?"

"I don't know. Shang Tsung had found me, and I guess he played a role in my escape. He brought me here as a fighter, among a few others such as Baraka, Reptile, Jade, some others, and I guess the Lin Kuei as well."

"Correct... now, we can catch up later. For now, we need to do as ordered of us." Sub-Zero said.

"By the way, should I call you by your code name? Or by the one I know you by?"

He walked ahead of her, turning his head, "Call me Sub-Zero, for now at least." Then, he continued to walk.

Scorpion wandered a garden, hoping to ease his mind, when someone came towards him.

He had brown hair, wearing the outfit of a Native-American, red tattoos on his eyes. His name was Nightwolf.

"You are Scorpion, correct? The one searching for Sub-Zero?"

"Yes... I do believe you aren't him if you wish to fight!"

"Actually, yes, I do. I'm a fighter for Earthrealm, whereas you fight for the opposite realm, so I will take you on and secure victory!"

Scorpion growled, but suddenly, Nightwolf shouted, an axe of green energy appearing as he chucked it towards Scorpion's head, surprising the Shirai Ryu warrior, who made a swift move to dodge as soon as he saw it.

His body became enveloped in a sharp, green light as he swiftly darted forward, elbowing Scorpion before creating another axe, stabbing his gut with it.

"Ngh... should have gone... for the head!" Scorpion said, a burst of fire coming off of his body, blowing him backwards. Firing a ball of flames off, Nightwolf was struck, being pushed backwards as Scorpion created fire on his feet, performing a fast roundhouse kick to trip him.

Nightwolf let out a shout, a staff appearing, planting itself into the ground as he fixed himself upright, spinning on the staff, his foot striking Scorpion in the jaw.

Then, before Scorpion could retaliate, he slammed his fist right into his nose, standing up properly now.

"Your firepower alone won't be enough to win this one, Scorpion."

Scorpion was angered by Nightwolf, running forward and punching him through a small patch of flowers.

Nightwolf grunted, but he made his move, putting both hands together, suddenly shouting as the head of a wolf made of his energy flew out, ramming into Scorpion, slamming him against a pillar at the edge of the garden, the pillar itself cracking from the force delivered.

Scorpion grunted, grabbing a little pole from the ground, ripping it out and tossing it straight at him.

Nightwolf was hit, stumbling backwards, so he created two axes, spinning around and tossing them both, impaling his opponent's chest. Blood began to come out, but then Scorpion gripped his mask.

He was simply pissed off, but that wasn't all. Quan Chi was possessing his mind nearby, causing him to hallucinate, believing that it was really Sub-Zero in disguise. He wanted to keep his promise to Rain, however, he just kept remembering that Sub-Zero had killed his family, his clan. Reacting on revenge and pure anger, he ripped his mask off, shouting.

"DIE! SUB-ZERO!"

Scorpion used his power, suddenly incinerating Nightwolf with a surprise attack, killing the Earthrealmer on the spot.

He was panting, but slowly, the image changed back to Nightwolf, who was burning alive.

"W-What..?"

Quan Chi emerged from a pillar, a smirk he had turning to a regular, serious expression.

"Scorpion! What have you done!?"

"I... I thought he was Sub-Zero!"

"No, your own rage must have clouded your mind, your desire to at least challenge him. You made a false move, but don't worry, he won't be remembered. Sub-Zero is still on the island though, he is a member of the Lin Kuei of course, wearing a blue and black outfit. When you find him, challenge him. You can kill him if you'd like... now, I must go."

As Quan Chi left, Scorpion huffed with anger, but at Quan Chi's words, he did not tell him the promise he made. He acted out of pure anger this time, but when he actually finds Sub-Zero, he will not kill him.

Someone witnessed the death though, the third partner Liu Kang and Kitana recruited, the one Rain had gone to spoke with. This person crept away in secret, but they were to keep an eye on him, seeing that he was going in the direction of the palace where the Lin Kuei were. This person was going to tell Liu Kang, however, they also had their own objective afterwards.

Johnny and Sonya were walking back from the pit, the two of them speaking.

"So, none of this is fake? Everything is real, and you're Special Forces?"

"Yes. They have Jax, my partner here. Backup should hopefully arrive soon. We have two other members as well who could possibly help out, named Kabal, Stryker, and some others too, but not yet, I think I can handle things with Briggs on my own."

But the sound of a blade could be heard, a redheaded woman holding daggers in both hands.

"Special Forces... Tremor told me you'd be coming this way."

Johnny and Sonya stopped, looking at her.

"Tremor? He's still alive?"

"Hey, Blade, got any idea who the redheaded hottie is?" Johnny asked.

Sonya shook her head.

"She doesn't recognize me because I'm new. After the death of Kano, the former leader of the Black Dragon, Jarek needed recruits as the group began to falter. I was one of them, whom he had found while searching, just by pure luck. Tremor contacted me after falling into that pit, told me you would be coming around here, so I'm here to deliver a beatdown..."

"As if... Cage, I'll handle this one."

Johnny nodded, standing on the side as Sonya got ready, taking on a boxing stance.

"Really? Your simple soldier fists against my skills with blades such as these, you stand no chance."

"Believe me, fighting The Thing is worse than fighting some new girl with knives."

Kira ran forward, slicing at Sonya, who jumped backwards to avoid the first slashes, sending a kick upwards and striking her chin before suddenly spinning around, knocking her away.

As Kira tried to retaliate, the officer kicked one of her blades away, but the former used her other blade to cut her opponent's cheek, causing Sonya to bleed, who then fought back with a combo strike to the torso.

Tumbling onto the ground, Kira grabbed her other blade, rolling away to gain some distance before tossing that blade straight at Sonya's leg, injuring her right thigh.

"Ngh! Just a little wound..."

She pulled the blade out, getting ready to throw it back, but she instead spun around, tossing it with precision afterwards, hitting Kira's shoulder, stabbing right into it.

Before she could pull the blade out, Sonya ran forward, dropkicking her straight in the face, knocking her onto her back.

As Kira hit the ground, her foe stood over her, stepping on her gut, confiscating her blades.

"That should do... we should be on lookout Johnny, she mentioned a man by the name of Jarek."

"Aren't you gonna take her in?" He spoke.

"She can't just leave this island. When the tournament is over and backup arrives, she and her buddies are toast." Sonya saiyan, pulling out a cable, tying Kira's hands together, along with tying her feet together.

They went off, and as that went on, Kotal was looking around for Jax with Jade, finally, they found him.

"You. Are you Jackson Briggs?" He asked.

"Who's asking?"

"My name is Kotal. This is my closest ally, Jade. We're here to release you from your prison."

"Are you? Or will we have a say in the matter?" A woman's voice said.

Sareena and Sub-Zero had arrived, staring them down.

"You've been sent by Shang Tsung I assume?" Jade asked, "I recognize the Lin Kuei."

"Jade, aren't you one of his guards?"

"Not anymore, he's been deceiving me, and I've been blindly following those deceptions."

Kotal stepped in front of her, taking on a fighting stance against Sub-Zero.

"Jade, handle the other one. I shall be taking on the one named Sub-Zero."

She nodded, running at Sareena, attacking her before she could make a move as Kotal and his opponent kept their eyes locked on each other.

"Do you know what you're doing? You'll lose if you choose to engage me." Sub-Zero said.

"I know exactly what I'm doing. My heart and mind are unclouded, I know the side of light, and you should as well."

Suddenly, the battle began abruptly as Kotal transformed into a jaguar, bolting forwards and pushing his foe onto his back, clawing at him, however, Sub-Zero had begun to freeze the jaguar, causing him to flip away, returning to his regular form. He instead pulled out a small sickle, attacking him with one.

The sickle was slowly frozen over, but Kotal pulled out another one, stabbing Sub-Zero in the arm, causing him to grunt in pain, his ice exploding to push his foe backwards. As green energy emerged from Kotal's hands and feet, he grabbed a giant blade off of his back, swinging it, but his opponent instead jumped onto the blade, freezing over it and kicking him in the chin.

Sub-Zero then created a barrage of icicles, after jumping off of the blade of course, firing them all off. Calling on the power of the sun, Kotal used his abilities to stop the ice in their tracks, melting them.

The two locked each other in a clash of punches and kicks, till eventually, Kotal gained an advantage, making a swift move with a strike to Sub-Zero's chin, sending him backwards, however, after being attacked, he then fired a blast of ice at Kotal, freezing his whole body, head to toe, a technique that immobilized him temporarily. Running forward, he jumped into the air, kicking Kotal so hard in the chest that the ice broke off of him, sending him tumbling onto the ground.

Jade and Sareena were colliding attacks, the latter having the upperhand, however, Jade pulled out her pole, imbuing it with her energy, suddenly swinging it, the pole extending, hitting Sareena so hard over the head that she was knocked right out.

Sub-Zero walked towards Kotal, aiming an axe of ice at him.

"Stand down Osh-Tekk."

Then, Jade came up behind him, hitting the side of his head with the pole, knocking him away.

"No. You stand down. Your friend is done for, so you might as well give up."

He looked at her, then at the warrior on the ground, suddenly waving his hands together, releasing a blast of ice to knock them both away. He ran over amidst the distraction, picking Sareena up, creating a wall of ice behind him as he left, running back to where he came from with her in his arms.

"Great. Now we're blocked in." Jade said.

"You underestimate our own physical strength." Kotal replied to her.

"Especially if we work... together." Jax said from inside his cell, the two of them turning to him.

Meanwhile, Scorpion had arrived where Cyrax and Sektor were, walking in after having moved up the staircase leading to it. The two turned to face him with some sort of disgust, Cyrax not as much, but definitely in Sektor's eyes.


	6. Chapter 5 - The Lin Kuei vs Scorpion

"What are you doing here Scorpion?" Sektor said, "Your inferior clan is dead, you'll be joining them soon enough."

Scorpion looked Sektor in the eyes, his own being white like ice.

"My clan will walk the Earth soon enough once more..."

Suddenly, Cyrax shoved Scorpion aside, the warrior stumbling backwards, Shang Tsung and Quan Chi entering, Baraka standing behind them.

"Ah. A challenge. Scorpion against two warriors from the Lin Kuei, Sektor and Cyrax."

"Your obsession with Sub-Zero will be coming to an end here Scorpion!" Cyrax said, taking on his own fighting stance.

"I have no obsession, simply a desire for vengeance! A fight where I wil triumph!" The Shirai Ryu warrior shouted, his chain spear emerging from his sleeve as he got ready to battle.

"Then we shall fight together, to allow you to join your clan." Sektor finished, standing by his partner as they began their battle.

Cyrax ran forward first, Scorpion swinging his chain, the former throwing a green net of plasma right at him, but as Scorpion tossed the chain, it went through one of the holes within the net, nearly piercing his opponent's chest, however, Sektor intervened, catching the chain, pulling Scorpion forward to deliver a dropkick to his face.

The net vanished, Scorpion growling, unleashing a ball of flames, Sektor countering with a wave of fire from the pack he wore on his back.

Scorpion then suddenly ran right into it, punching his enemy in the jaw twice, kicking him backwards, his ally stepping in with a plasma ball, slamming it into Scorpion, knocking him backwards further. Cyrax then tossed a golden bomb at his feet, the ball exploding. He ran forward, pulling a large shuriken out from his gear, slicing at Scorpion, however, his attack was countered when the golden wraith pulled out his sword, fending it off, rapidly slashing at Cyrax, who narrowly avoided most of the attacks but was cut by a few.

Liu Kang entered with Kung Lao, Rain walking behind them with Johnny and Sonya soon following, all of them baring witness to the match.

"Baraka... keep an eye on the new one... the god and his ally, the demi-god..." Shang Tsung said to his tarkatan subordinate.

Baraka nodded, Liu Kang looking over at them.

_"This is it... where the fight will go down... I need to make sure it goes how we need it to go..."_ Liu Kang thought to himself, keeping a close eye on things. He still remembered how it went in his timeline, the demise of the original Sub-Zero. Now he knew how to prevent it.

Shang Tsung looked over to the group, grunting. He noticed new additions, Rain and Liu Kang. He recognized Rain though, the son of Argus, a god that watched over the realm of Edenia, a god who is now dead thanks to Rain's second stepbrother Daegon. He wasn't amused though, Liu Kang was the protector of Earthrealm, the Fire God.

Scorpion elbowed him in the nose, grabbing his elbow and twisting it before flipping him over his shoulder, Sektor running in and punching Scorpion in the back of the head before tripping him by pulling his ankle. Flames shot out of his feet, blasting the crimson Lin Kuei member off of his legs.

Scorpion quickly got up as both of them came at him at once, trying to outmaneuver him, however, he spun around, punching them both as they came in before grabbing their heads and knocking them together. Scorpion let them both drop to the ground, Sektor wiping his mouth.

"See, this is why we need the Cyber Initiative my friend... it will enhance our strength..."

Cyrax simply shook his head as he slowly rose, Scorpion staring the both of them down.

"I've made up my mind... I will still seek my fight with Sub-Zero, but I will not kill him. I promise you both..." Scorpion said to his defeated opponents.

Liu Kang nodded with positivity, but then the doors in the back opened, "Will not kill me? Or cannot kill me?" A voice said.

Sub-Zero entered, still holding Sareena in his arms as she was still unconscious.

He put her down on the ground carefully, letting her rest before walking towards Scorpion, who proceeded to do the same.

"You're the one who seeks to battle me, correct?"

"Sub-Zero... my clan is dead... and you will suffer like they did!"

"To hell with your clan!" Sub-Zero had shouted.

"No... to Hell with you!" Scorpion exclaimed. At this very moment, Liu Kang suddenly ran out from the crowd, surprising everyone except the two of them.

Scorpion placed his hands on Sub-Zero, flames engulfing them, but at the same time, Liu Kang had grabbed on as well, all three of them vanishing into a portal of fire, which quickly closed just as fast as it opened.

"What just... happened?" Johnny questioned.

"Things went according to plan." Rain said, adjusting his mask.

Quan Chi was angered, this was quite the interference in his plans, but he had to deal with it, for now...

Rain began to leave, supposedly going to find his second partner, as he knew Kotal was most likely finding Jax. But as he left, Shang Tsung signaled for Baraka to follow him.

* * *

At the same time, Reptile, the one who had battled Johnny in the introduction, was wandering a Shang Tsung's main garden. He now wore a fully black suit with green overlays and a golden belt, having a green mask covering his face and a black hood, his lime skin and yellow eyes still visible though.

He was pacing back and forth, dwelling on his thoughts when a female voice said, "I finally found you."

Turning around, a woman came into view, wearing a turquoise colored leotard, wristbands of the same color and boots with long stockings that connected to the leotard she wore of the same color. Her body was nearly transparent, but it could be barely seen with a grey coloring, along with her pure white eyes and wavy hair, having a mask that covered the lower part of her face and a turquoise headband.

"What? Found me? Who are you?"

"You're Reptile correct? A member of the saurian race?"

"The sole survivor..." He said, getting in a stance.

"I see, your mind has been toyed with... I'd like for you to abandon Shang Tsung Reptile..."

"What? Who are you!? Answer me!"

"My name is Khameleon. I am also a saurian, a female in fact. Our race is not gone."

"What are you saying..?"

"The saurians still live, either Shang Tsung or a sorcerer has simply clouded your thoughts. I was brought by a woman named Kitana, alongside two others and a male saurian, someone who shares a name and appearance with me."

"A female saurian..? You say our race lives and you were brought by the ruler of Outworld, Kitana Kahn?"

"Yes. You've been brainwashed to be a lackey. I came to keep an eye on the fighters, but also because I was told of you and how useful of an ally you could become. I have a relative, a male who resembles me named Chameleon. He shares my name, only with a different spelling, so we'll be calling him Chamillo, got it?"

Reptile stepped backwards away from her, holding his head a bit, taking it all in.

"I've been... messed with..? Just to be some sort of servant?"

"Correct... Kitana Kahn has allied herself with our species, which is how she found me and my brother. I've come to find you Reptile, to turn you to our side so you can join us."

Reptile looked her in the eyes. It was definitely a change he'd have to get used to, learning that his race still lives on, seeing a female example standing in front of him.

Then, Rain had entered the garden, looking over at Khameleon.

"You've found your strong saurian man huh..?" He said, chuckling.

"Quiet. I was just explaining the details to Reptile. It's about time too, we need to defeat Shang Tsung, so nothing darker arises."

"Lord Liu Kang went with Scorpion and Sub-Zero to the Netherrealm, I have no idea what could be happening down there..." Rain told the two of them, but then, a slash could be heard, Baraka walking over, having followed Rain.

"This is where you go..? To plot, you enter the garden of Shang Tsung..? Then you'll be buried with the flowers." He said, aiming his blades at them.

Khameleon was going to fight, but instead, Reptile walked forward, blocking her path.

"What are you doing lizard? You're defying orders given..."

"You should do the same tooth-face... I've found my calling..." Reptile said, pulling his mask down, spitting acid straight at Baraka, who made a swift move, avoiding it. The two ran towards each other, clashing kicks, the tarkatan warrior cutting his former ally along the side, green blood emerging.

Reptile did a spin, kicking Baraka across a bed of flowers, hissing at him before jumping on his chest, stomping down. Baraka attempted to stab him through the chin, but he performed a backflip, avoiding it with a rather fleet-footed movement.

They dashed towards each other again, Baraka holding his right blade out, clashing it with the saurian warrior's elbow.

* * *

At the same time, Jax was freed from his cell, flexing his muscles and feeling his own beard, stretching.

"Finally... it's good to be free from that birdcage..." He said, cracking his knuckles. "Though... I'm starved... I wasn't treated kindly in there..."

"I know very well. I can get you a meal in secret, just come along with me. Kotal, should you not regroup with the others?"

"Yes, but first of all, I must tell you that Liu Kang had only brought me here because of a crisis. The first step to avoiding it, we need to place our hopes in the fighters to win this tournament." He said to Jax, who then nodded in agreement.

"Sounds good..."

Jade began to lead Jax elsewhere, where he could get water and something to replenish his hunger. Kotal walked towards the exit Sareena and Sub-Zero had taken, but as he did, someone was walking around. He suddenly saw a spear of blood fly at him, barely dodging it.

"Who could it be..?" He questioned, hearing footsteps speeding up, running at him. A shadow emerged from the darkness, a red-haired woman who jumped into the air, kicking at him, knocking him straight into a wall. She caught her grounding, dusting herself off, ready to kill.

* * *

Scorpion and the other two appeared in the Netherrealm, Liu Kang being tossed off of him, rolling along the stone.

"You... who are you!? Why did you come along!?" Sub-Zero asked of him.

"I know... he's the god of Earthrealm. Quan Chi informed me... what are you doing here?"

"You know of Kitana and Rain, right Scorpion? I'm the one who basically sent both of them." Liu Kang said, getting up and dusting himself off.

"You..? So you're the one who made the promise I'm guessing... then I will try my best to keep it..." Scorpion said, facing his foe. "Now... this is where you shall pay!" He shouted, firing off his spear, stabbing into his side and pulling him forward.

Scorpion ducked down, uppercutting Sub-Zero through the air, but the latter created a ball of ice, tossing it at him before generating some more frost, creating a slide of ice on the ground, allowing him to safely land as Scorpion was hit by the ball, slowly freezing.

Shouting, he let out a burst of flames, running forward and moving along the ice slide, swinging his right fist forward with a fearsome roar. Sub-Zero reacted quickly, reeling his left fist backwards before lunging straight at his opponent, shouting at the top of his lungs, both of their knuckles clashing together, all while Liu Kang watched.


	7. Chapter 6 - Scorpion's Decision

Sareena woke up in the main palace, looking around as she slowly stood rubbing her head.

"W-What happened... where's Bi-Han?"

Sektor looked over at her, hearing the name, "Bi-Han is in the Netherrealm with two others, fighting Scorpion."

"What!? Fighting Scorpion in the Netherrealm!? That shouldn't be happening! We need to help him!" She shouted out towards him.

Cyrax looked at where they once were, backing up.

"I'll go... and I'll scope the whole thing out..." Quan Chi said.

Kung Lao looked at him with skepticism in his eyes, the demon sorcerer glowing with green energy as he suddenly vanished, going right to the Netherrealm.

* * *

When he appeared, Quan Chi was watching from a little boulder, grinning as Scorpion and Sub-Zero were still dueling. The golden warrior shot his leg up, knocking his foe through the air, sending his chain at him, grabbing his leg and slamming him down.

Sub-Zero generated two axes of ice, cutting the chain, Scorpion tossing the end with the spear on it at him in retaliation, however, the former quickly deflected the spear, flipping up and throwing both axes right at him.

Scorpion dodged one, but the other pierced his shoulder. Sub-Zero darted forward, jumping up and kicking it so hard that it cleaved right through his shoulder, blood pouring from his arm as he grunted in pain. Flames emerged from Scorpion's eyes as he roared, a burst of fire rising around his body.

He ran forward, the very ground igniting as he moved, using a twister of flames to propel himself through the air, slamming his heel into Sub-Zero's chin before spinning around and unleashing a blast of fire strong enough to send him through a stone wall.

As the rubble fell around Sub-Zero, he got up, firing off a ball of ice strong enough to freeze Scorpion in place. Using this, he jumped upwards, stomping so hard on the ground when he came down that a pillar of frost shot through the air after forming, hitting Scorpion head-on in the torso, knocking him onto his back.

He got up with a fast spin and roll, unleashing his biggest blast of flames, shouting with fury in his voice as it tore through the breeze. Sub-Zero had no choice but to counter, focusing his pure cold energy to create a massive blast of ice, the two elements clashing as Liu Kang watched, having never seen their actual fight for himself till now. The two warriors let out a scream at the same time, forcing their blasts forward towards each other.

Scorpion gained the advantage though, flames emerging from his entire body as he broke right through the ice, a wave of heat overwhelming his target, sending him onto the ground with burns on his body, but still kicking.

He slowly rose, holding his chest when Quan Chi came over.

"What are you waiting for Scorpion..? Have you forgotten already what he has done?"

"No... I made a promise... I'm not going to kill him..." Scorpion said.

Sub-Zero was confused as to what Quan Chi was speaking about, however, he soon showed it, "Allow me to remind you."

Using his magic, he generated a screen in the air that they could all see, images of the past, showing Sub-Zero murdering Scorpion's wife and infant daughter.

Fueled by rage and pure animosity, Scorpion looked over to Sub-Zero as the memory vanished, huffing and puffing.

"Wait! Scoprion! Please, believe me even if just once! That's not me! I swear it! I had nothing to do with the murder of your clan!" Sadly, Sub-Zero was telling the truth, however, Scorpion wasn't going to listen.

He grabbed his mask, about to rip it clean off when Liu Kang ran forward, jumping into the air and delivering a bicycle kick.

Quan Chi was caught off guard, Liu Kang dropping down as Scorpion fell to his back, grunting.

"Scorpion! Don't believe what this sorcerer says! It's a fabrication!"

He slowly got up, Liu Kang pointing to Quan Chi, "He's your true enemy! Sub-Zero didn't kill anyone in your clan, this demon made an illusion to fool you!"

"Is this true..?" Scorpion questioned, grunting.

Quan Chi wanted to say something, but instead, Sub-Zero began to speak, "What would I gain from lying to a Shirai Ryu? Listen... my clan has already eliminated yours... but... I'm sorry for it, because I had nothing to do with and no way to stop it, the grandmaster had delivered the order. But I do know what we can stop together... this sorcerer has been manipulating you in order to get you to kill me..."

Quan Chi backed up a bit, shaking his head, "That's preposterous! Don't believe a word they say!"

Scorpion just glared at the mage though, taking a few steps towards him. "I've been on a goose chase all because of you? I killed that Earthrealm fighter because of you, and I almost killed Sub-Zero for no reason... because of you!?"

Before Quan Chi could do anything, he got the fate he deserved. While he tried to use his magic to escape, Scorpion yanked his mask right off, unleashing his hellfire. But in order to return Scorpion to his humanity, Liu Kang had assisted him, taking out Quan Chi as he wishes he could have done in his timeline, using his flames combined with Scorpion's to scorch the Netherrealm warlock alive.

As Quan Chi's body collapsed, fried completely, Scorpion began to feel dizzy. When Quan Chi attempted to use his magic on Scorpion combined with the godly flames of Liu Kang and his own hellfire, a miracle was taking place. He was outcold, but his eyes returned to that of a regular person's. He had become a human once more.

"Scorpion wasn't a threat all? He was just being manipulated..?" Sub-Zero questioned.

"He was never a threat, and now, he'll be an ally. Sub-Zero, I'd like for you to join me and my allies for Earthrealm, and I'd like you to help me speak with Cyrax about the Cyber Initiative. Scorpion will also be joining us."

Liu Kang picked Scorpion up, Sub-Zero nodded. "Gladly."

The three of them returned to Earthrealm, but not before Sub-Zero grabbed the charred carcass of Quan Chi.

They appeared back in the palace and everyone in the room was surprised at what they saw. Liu Kang holding Scorpion, and Sub-Zero carrying Quan Chi's corpse.

The ice warrior threw it into the air, freezing it mid toss, letting it hit the ground and shatter. "Quan Chi is dead." He simply said.

"Oh you're alive!" Sareena exclaimed, ecstatic that he had come back unharmed from his duel. She came over and gave a sort of hug to him before backing up.

"What of Scorpion?" Cyrax asked.

"He is no longer the specter that beat you. He is a human, Hanzo Hasashi, freed from Quan Chi's magic." The God of Fire said, putting Scorpion to rest. Shang Tsung just watched them all with anger. But then he watched Cyrax specifically, as he began to associate with Liu Kang.

"Cyrax... the god here would like to speak with you..."

"The god?" Cyrax asked, confused.

The Fire God walked over, bowing to Cyrax. "Hello Cyrax. My name is Liu Kang, Earthrealm's protector. I'd like for you to tell me all you can about the Cyber Initiative... because I want to prevent your cyberization..."

* * *

Meanwhile, Kotal looked through the lair, seeing a woman with a very skimpy outfit walking towards him, holding two dual blades. She had red hair and a curvy figure, her mouth being covered with a mask.

"Who are you? One of Shang Tsung's people?"

"In a way... my name is Skarlet. I'm an orphan trained in the arts of blood magik by Shang Tsung... since then, he's given me a home and power, so I serve him loyally... I will not allow you to leave here unscathed, or even, alive..." She said, sliding her fingers along one of her blades.

"Then come at me, Skarlet..."

She ran right at him, moving with great speed, rapidly slicing at him. He was cut once, avoiding the rest of her attacks, but he grabbed her by the wrist, flipping her over and slamming her back onto the ground. Suddenly though, she began to use her blood-based powers, along with manipulating his blood to rope him in, pulling him down and slamming him down beside her.

* * *

Tremor was wandering the pits, moving through a cavern after having been knocked off of the upper bridge.

"How the hell do I get out of here..?" He questioned.

Then, he could hear a voice, "Tremor. I've finally caught up to you."

Tremor turned, seeing the Black Dragon leader, Jarek, holding his axe by his side.

"You're here! Jarek... do you know the way out?"

"Of course, how do you believe I found you down here? Also, I asked Shang Tsung if Tasia could come to the tournament, he allowed it, so she's on her way now."

"Tasia huh..? Then we'll probably see her soon enough, but let's just get going."

Tremor and Jarek began to walk through the catacombs, wandering. However, something seemed to have changed. The catacombs had shifted while they weren't looking.

"Where to now?" Tremor questioned.

"Just follow along with me." Jarek said, walking down a hall of stones, hearing a strange sound as he walked. The two of them entered room full of green lights of different shades. It was a massive chamber, channeling the energy of souls through a large well.

"What the..?" He said, gripping his axe.

"Jarek. Look." Tremor said, pointing over to a figure within a small ball of soul energy. The figure had a black and red robe, his face completely covered by a black mask with a black and red hood, the only things visible were his eyes. They were closed however, his body absorbing the souls.

"Something like... a creation of sorts..." Jarek said before turning, seeing another door that had lead out, "Tremor, with me, let's go. We're going to find Kira and then wait on the docks for Tasia to arrive." The two of them ran through the door, Jarek in front as they made their escape from these catacombs.

* * *

Reptile and Baraka had been going on with their fight, the latter flying forward and spinning his arm-blades rapidly, cutting the former, who then decided to counterattack with a capoeira kick and a blast of acid from his mouth, burning Baraka's chest.

He stabbed both blades into the ground, tearing a large boulder out of the dirt, tossing it straight at Reptile, striking his torso and knocking him backwards before shouting and kicking up another rock to add onto it, Reptile coughing up green blood.

But then, Khameleon jumped in, grabbing Reptile with her own legs and tossing him onto the dirt. She channeled a ball of golden energy, firing it off at Baraka and sending him rolling along the flowers.

"Khameleon..." Reptile said, grunting as Rain helped him stand.

"You clearly need assistance. Reptile, I'm helping you, because you've chosen to be one of us."

As Baraka got up, Khameleon jumped high into the air, her eyes flashing as blue energy appeared on her feet, allowing for her to fly through the air and deliver a strong double kick to her opponent's forehead, locking her legs around his head before he could touch the ground, performing such a fast flip that she was able to toss him onto a bed of flowers.

"Thank you, but I could have fought him off." Reptile said.

Khameleon nodded, "I know you could have, but I just wanted to fight for once in a while. Now then... we need to go regroup with the other warriors of Earthrealm, so if you will, follow me." She began to run through the garden, Reptile standing upright on his own as he and Rain followed after her, the three of them looking for the others.

Now then, as the sun shone over the island, Cyrax had explained the Cyber Initiative to Liu Kang with help from Sub-Zero. Afterwards, he had separated from everyone else to think things over. He was planning to leave the Lin Kuei thanks to Sub-Zero and Liu Kang, so he was figuring his own mind out on the bridge above the large pit. Someone, however, was approaching fast.


	8. Chapter 7 - The Challenges for Cyrax

Cyrax pondered his thoughts. The Cyber Initiative was inhumane, it stripped the Lin Kuei of their principles, their instincts and free will. Making them slaves. He did not want that. But someone was approaching, Cyrax hearing the sounds of their blades.

"Who's there?" He said as he slowly turned.

A man wearing a black trench coat stood, having short black hair, a green visor around his neck, white eyes, and black tights with no shirt. He pulled out two hook swords from his back, swinging them fast.

"My name is Mavado... a member of Red Dragon."

"Red Dragon is here as well? Then I'm bettin' Jarek and the others haven't met you yet."

"Oh we've become acquainted. Although our clans hate one another, we've made a truce to serve Shang Tsung in this tournament, to supply him as well. Now then, Shang Tsung has sent me on specific orders."

"What orders are those?"

"While Sektor can still be worthy, you and Sub-Zero are of no use now that you have affiliated with the Fire God."

"No use? Are you kidding me? He's trying to kill me!? Then come at me..!" Cyrax said, taking on a fighting stance.

Mavado ran right at Cyrax, slicing at him with incredible speed and precision, cutting his chest twice. The Lin Kuei warrior reacted by tossing a blast of plasma, pushing his opponent backwards before running forward and unleashing a rush attack of kicks with just his right leg.

"Haaa!" Cyrax screamed out, finishing with a fast spin kick to knock Mavado to the ground. However, before he hit the ground, he did a fast spin mid-air, cutting Cyrax's ankle, dropping one blade to strike his wounded ankle, tripping him.

Mavado stood up, grabbing his blade, but his foe had shot up fast, uppercutting him through the air. While he was like the wind, Cyrax created a net of plasma, trapping Mavado in a strong grip, holding him down.

"You'll be free from that at some point... right now, I need to have a word with Shang Tsung." He said, leaving Mavado and walking off elsewhere. Though, now that Sub-Zero was meant to be terminated as well, this was bad news for him.

The Lin Kuei in blue wandered around the pond, alongside Sareena. The two of them were catching up, bonding. But someone was coming by, ready to strike them, a warrior of Outworld. He held a barbed club in one hand, having pure blue eyes with black tattoos over them with short, slicked back hair, wearing red and white spiked armor.

"Sub-Zero! Sareena!" He shouted out to them.

"Hm?" Sub-Zero wondered, him and his partner facing him.

"My name is Reiko. I am a general in Kitana Kahn's armies and I am a fighter for Outworld."

"What are you here for then, general?" Sareena asked.

"My mission was to terminate Sub-Zero, but I'm not going to kill him. Kitana Kahn would choose otherwise. But, I will take you down, to eliminate you from the tournament. Both of you. You eliminated Scorpion and Quan Chi, so consider this your final challenge." Reiko said, directing it all the warrior in blue.

"Fine by me... let's go." Sub-Zero said, walking towards Reiko, a frosty mist flowing around his body, the latter glowing with red energy as his blue eyes became a whitish red.

The fight began as Reiko ran forward fist, swinging his club at Sub-Zero, who then dodged it, attempting to land an attack on his stomach, but it was blocked by a red light of energy before he was struck so hard he was sent flying backwards.

"Bi-Han!" Sareena exclaimed, growling and running at Reiko.

"My power has been enhanced by Blood Magik. I am a warrior that you all will fear in due time!" He shouted, blocking a high kick from Sareena, along with a punch to his chin. He grabbed her arm, breaking it. Using his club, he struck her onto the ground so that she could roll in pain over her left arm.

Sub-Zero had witnessed this, growling as he generated two axes of ice, running forward. "You bastard!" He shouted, swinging both at the same time. Reiko shattered through one using his mace, but then Sub-Zero was able to parry a second attack using the remaining axe before creating a cut along his gut.

The axe vanished into speckles of cold, ice forming around his hand as he used it to strengthen his body, striking Reiko's chest.

Crimson energy formed around Reiko's arms as he grabbed Sub-Zero tightly. He tried fighting back, even kneeing Reiko in the stomach. While it did damage him, he had his mind set, so he lifted Sub-Zero into the air, focusing this newfound energy into his lower body. Moving with force and great speed, he slammed Sub-Zero's back onto his knee. He didn't break it, but he hit hard enough to knock him out with that final attack.

He dropped Sub-Zero onto the ground besides Sareena, nodded. "You keep your life, however, you are not allowed to participate in this tournament any longer, and you no longer serve Shang Tsung." Reiko spoke, walking off.

* * *

In Goro's Lair, Kotal and Skarlet had been fighting for quite a bit, both of them understandably tired, but the time was coming to end the fight, drawing near fast.

Kotal pulled out his massive sword, swinging it, Skarlet barely avoided it before calling upon his blood and hers, pulling him forward and delivering a strong uppercut. He grunted, his eyes flashing a gold color as he suddenly slammed his forehead against hers.

She rolled back, creating a blade of blood, running at him while screaming. Kotal charged at her, raising one fist, and suddenly, they collided. Her blade stabbed into his body, but at the same time, she had been hit so hard that she was knocked right unconscious.

Skarlet fell onto her back slowly, her body wounded as her eyes sealed themselves. Kotal grunted from the wounds he had, pulling the blade out of his gut, blood coming out. He swooned back and forth, following downwards onto the ground. He passed out himself, the two of them tying.

* * *

Sektor and Shang Tsung spoke at the central arena while the other fighters were also in the location, Kung Lao being there with Johnny and Sonya. Khameleon, Rain, and Reptile were still on their way and Hanzo was taken to Kitana by Liu Kang. The old master was Discussing new plans with Sektor as Cyrax opened a gate, walking in. He turned, seeing his 'allies', walking over to them with a serious expression on his face.

"Sektor! Would you care to explain?"

"Explain what..?" Sektor questioned, turning to face Cyrax, stopping his conversation with Shang Tsung.

"Explain why this sorcerer attempted to have me killed? I believe he's also trying to kill Sub-Zero. Got any form of explanation?"

"You have jeopardized my goal Cyrax, by associating with the Fire God. I sent Mavado to kill you... but clearly he failed. Hopefully, Reiko killed Sub-Zero and Sareena..."

"Shang Tsung. Give him one more chance though. He will fulfill his task to eliminate warriors of Earthrealm..." Sektor said, standing up for his ally.

"Fine... ATTENTION ALL KOMBATANTS!" The sorcerer began. "We have a challenge! Johnny Cage vs Cyrax!"

Johnny looked towards the arena, crossing his arms. "Against me? Alright, I'll make sure to win." He said, winking at Sonya before walking towards the arena.

As he entered, Cyrax stared him down, saying, "You're just an actor. Even if you defeated Baraka and Reptile, I'm a skilled assassin!"

"Keep dreaming golden boy."

"You'll be dreaming when I'm done..." He said as the fight began, running towards Cage. Shooting his right arm forward, Johnny lifted his left leg to perform a high-kick, but instead blocked the punch. Johnny spun around, knocking Cyrax to the side, but then he fired off a net of plasma, tying Johnny's legs together, running forward and kicking him hard enough that he began to roll.

The net broke off as Johnny shot upwards, running forward and trying to punch Cyrax, he missed. He tried again, but was instead blocked and obtained a powerful strike to his gut.

Johnny then made his move, the bandages on his arms being used to grab Cyrax's arms, pulling him downwards and right into Cage's knee, his chin colliding with it. Johnny let go of him before grabbing his head and slamming him down face-first.

Cyrax grunted in pain, but then he made his way back to standing up, jumping backwards before running forward with so much force, that he was able to tackle Johnny into the air, letting go and kicking off of him, causing for him to be knocked onto the ground. Cyrax fired off two nets of plasma, capturing Johnny in a hold.

"Finish him!" Sektor said, "He's been eliminated... you've won, so finish the job!"

Cyrax looked down at Johnny, he wasn't getting out of this trap. He knew it was his task, but should he? After all, the Lin Kuei are changing, and he believes it may be for the worse.

"No. I will not kill him."

Shang Tsung scowled, sighing as he then had another idea. "Fine, you shall not kill him, however, you have one more opponent! The blind swordsman, Kenshi!"

Walking into the arena through a gate was a man clad in a black body suit, having a red bandana over his eyes with sharp black hair. Like Nightwolf, he is also a fighter of Earthrealm with spiritual-like powers.

"Your heart is deceiving you... I can feel it..." Kenshi said as he walked in, gripping a katana on his waist.

"What..?"

"You're conflicted between morality and loyalty... are you not?"

Before Cyrax could say anything, Shang Tsung shouted, "Begin!"

Kenshi nodded, looking towards him. "Let's have a good duel."

Then, he ran forward, letting go of his sword in his sheathe, punching at Cyrax, knocking him backwards. He then used his telekinesis to catch him before he hit the ground, tossing him upwards, pulling out his katana and tossing it straight at his opponent, cutting his cheek before recalling his blade. Cyrax grunted in the air as the telekinesis vanished, he fired a ball of plasma out, nearly hitting Kenshi, but it was stopped right before striking him.

"Nice try but-" Suddenly, the ball exploded either way, burning Kenshi and knocking him backwards. Cyrax aimed his arm forward, a blade firing out of his wrist, a straight clean saw that spun through the air, zooming straight at Kenshi. Kenshi got up, gripping his katana, blue energy surrounding it as he cut the sawblade straight in half, teleporting behind Cyrax and elbowing him forward. Taking on a stance, his sword began to float in the air.

"Sento!" Kenshi shouted, a blue light emerging from his sword as it began to swing itself, flying at Cyrax and rapidly slashing at him.

Cyrax was able to block them, having wrapped a sawblade in plasma, deflecting the swings of the blade. He knocked it away, Kenshi retracting it right back to his side.

"You're a psychic... I should have guessed earlier, and this sword of yours is strong..."

"Tell me Cyrax, why do you fight for Shang Tsung? You belong to Earthrealm."

"I belong to the Lin Kuei, my loyalty at least... my trust and honor!"

"Yet you seek to part with them within your heart? If Earthrealm loses this tournament... then there will be no Lin Kuei."

Cyrax began to think about it a bit more, but even so, he still had to win this fight, taking on a stance.

"I've made up my mind swordsman..."

"And I trust it's the right choice..." Kenshi said, holding his sword in a position that allowed for him to strike fast, running forward with great agility, Cyrax running forward, dropping down fast to slide on his knees, punching his foe right in the stomach, getting up fast, his head slamming into Kenshi's jaw.

Before he could react, Cyrax grabbed Kenshi's wrist, twisting it, flipping him over his shoulder with a powerful bellow, his head slamming into the stone.

"The winner is... Cyrax!" Shang Tsung said. Kenshi didn't rise again, but he wasn't unconscious, he was staying down.

"Stay down... because I'm not gonna kill you..."

When Sektor heard these words, he was angered with his partner. He's supposed to kill the Earthrealm fighters, not just spare them! So, he ran forward, pulling Cyrax away, to the garden area.

* * *

Now in the garden, Sektor tossed Cyrax forward, crossing his arms.

"What do you intend on doing Cyrax? Your task is to kill the challengers of Earthrealm, you aren't just supposed to defeat them!"

"I do not wish to kill them! I do not wish to follow your orders."

"They are the orders of the grandmaster! You will be corrected when the Cyber Initiative is formed..."

Suddenly, Cyrax uppercutted Sektor, sending him tumbling onto the ground.

"And another thing... I don't care for the Cyber Initiative... because I'm leaving the Lin Kuei..."

Sektor got up, holding his hand out, flames firing out of his wrist, burning Cyrax's body a bit before he leapt back, firing a plasma ball, which Sektor countered with a powerful strike from a flame covered fist.

"No one... just leaves the Lin Kuei..." He said, running forward and sending a kick at Cyrax, which he blocked before being struck by a punch in the chest, Sektor unleashing a rush barrage of punches, knocking his partner backwards. He grabbed his fingers, bending them before slamming his arm onto his knee.

Cyrax grunted, a sawblade firing out of his wristguard, cutting at Sektor's left arm, destroying the small pump that channeled the flames on his back.

He then grabbed hold of his leg, tripping him onto the ground, slamming his boot down onto Sektor's knee. But then, he pulled out a bomb, tossing it into Cyrax's hands, the bomb exploding, flames bursting out all over them, but Sektor was protected from it, rolling backwards. He rose to his feet, taking on a stance.

Cyrax pulled out a bomb of his own, grunting, coughing up smog as he ran forward, shoving the bomb against his opponent's stomach, shouting, "This one... just did!" Suddenly, the bomb exploded, a burst of plasma firing out, sending Sektor flying into a flowerbed, grunting in pain.

"Don't get up." Cyrax said, tossing another sawblade, cutting off Sektor's right hand, clean off, blood dripping from where his hand once was. Cyrax left the garden, leaving Sektor wounded there.


	9. Chapter 8 - The Final Fights Begin

Hanzo slowly opened his eyes. His mask had been removed, his black hair falling down around his head as he looked up. He felt different. He was more human, even having a beard and such. "Where... am I?" He questioned.

"With me." Kitana said, walking into the room.

"Who are you... you're..."

"Don't recognize me, Hanzo? I am the queen of Outworld. Kitana Kahn..."

"So, you're the host of this tournament?" He said, rising.

"No. Shang Tsung is the main host of it all. I allowed him, for the sake of fate. Had this tournament not happened, you'd not be human again. Though... we do not know if anyone will suffer because of this... we just found out that a spiritual fighter known as Nightwolf had perished."

"Nightwolf... I believe that was my doing as a revenant... because of Quan Chi. But now I... am human? You mean I've been returned to normal?"

"Quan Chi must have tampered with your brain to make you commit a violent action, like you almost did for Sub-Zero. So you're alright now, and as for you being human, my... well... husband, Liu Kang, was able to return you back to your original form during your clash with Quan Chi. The sorcerer is dead, and Sub-Zero lives, now as one of our allies. I took you here to rest and get back to full strength."

Then, a bush could be heard, Liu Kang walking through with some water.

"Got a good drink for you. Here." He walked forward, allowing for Hanzo to drink the water, little by little.

"Thank you for saving me." He said after drinking it all.

Liu Kang just nodded in silence, as in he was saying that it was okay. But then, more people had come, Rain and Khameleon, Reptile following along.

"Ah, you two have arrived, with Reptile in tow as well."

"Reptile? But isn't he working for Shang Tsung?" Hanzo said, rising to his feet.

"Calm yourself Scorpion. He has aligned himself with us, for the sake of his species and fighting alongside them."

"He speaks nothing but truth. I simply wish to help win, so that I can meet Khameleon's brother and help lead our race, the saurians."

"Most of the fighters for Earthrealm have been eliminated though... Reptile, I understand you want to help in the fight, but not many of our fighters remain, and you are still technically counted as a fighter for Shang Tsung in the tournament. So the only ones we have left... are Sonya Blade and Kung Lao. Everyone else has lost their own fights, and people who agreed to help us like Cyrax weren't technically apart of the main tournament and weren't fighting for Earthrealm. Luckily, they don't have many fighters left either, and I don't think the last Black Dragon member will make much a difference, Tremor and Kira were beaten, so it's just Jarek." Kitana explained.

"Actually, I found out that Jarek had been allowed to call in another member of the Black Dragon. We don't know who it could be, but they're either already here or are on their way. But either way, it'd be a two on two, and I know Kung Lao will be able to handle Goro and so on if he wins. After all, he is now the number one." Liu Kang said, finishing his sentence with a grin.

"But we cannot forget... Shang Tsung has another fighter he's been waiting to pull out." Kitana said, Liu Kang having nearly forgotten who it was.

* * *

Sonya had entered Shang Tsung's central throne room, alongside Kung Lao, Johnny Cage, and Jax. Cyrax also came in through another doorway, the old man sitting on his throne, looking around at them.

"Kombatants! Hear me out! A new challenger will join the ring. A fighter of my own creation, Ermac! Made from over a hundred souls!"

A hole opened in the middle of the floor, Ermac being raised on a tile to the surface level, coming face to face with everyone. It was the figure who Jarek and Tremor had come across before, now awakened. His eyes shone a bright viridian color as he gazed at all of them.

He spoke no words, simply made his looks.

"Who believes themselves to be a worthy fight for Ermac? Of the Earthrealm warriors remaining that is..." Shang Tsung announced.

Kung Lao was about to step up, but then the door was kicked open, Tremor entering first, Jarek coming up beside him.

"Hello..." Jarek said. Kira scowled, standing behind Tremor. But then a woman walked in, wearing purple tights and a small, purple vest. She had a curvy figure with two sharp blades on her back, her black hair being swung to the side of her face.

"Hello Special Forces..." She said.

"Black Dragon Tasia..." Sonya spoke, turning to face her and the other members of the clan.

"Oh? Do we have a NEW challenge? Before Ermac? Very well, then who shall be fighting?"

"Us two alone, versus any amount of them who can still fight in the tournament." Jarek said, tying his axe around his back and pointing to Tasia.

Sonya was going to fight them, but Kung Lao stopped her. "Hey, you mind taking that green guy? I'll make quick work of these guys, even if it is two on one."

"Really? You think I should take on the soul being?"

"Yeah, you'll weaken him for me, if you lose that is. I don't know if you'll win or not, but either way, if you fight and lose he'll be weakened and I'll step in, because no way am I losing to these two over here."

Sonya sighed, nodding. She turned to face Ermac, walking onto the center.

"I'll challenge him!"

"And I'll challenge these two!" Kung Lao said, running his hand along the edges of his hat as he came face to face with Tasia and Jarek.

"You? I was hoping for the Special Forces lady... but you will suffice, because then we'll just kick her ass..." Tasia said, pulling out one of her blades.

Kung Lao waved his index finger, making a tsk sound. "Don't underestimate me."

Tasia ran forward, slicing at Kung Lao with great speed, stabbing his arm with one of her blades, forcefully ripping it out afterwards, causing him to bleed. He grunted in pain, grabbing her by the hair and kneeing her gut, catching her wrist before she could react. He spun around, tossing her down onto the ground and stomping on her leg. Jarek walked forward, spinning his axe over his head before tossing it right at Kung Lao, punching the handle of the weapon, sending it flying into Kung Lao's thigh, not going in too deep but cutting him.

"Ngh!" He groaned, pulling his hat off, spinning fast as a blue light flashed over him. The blades in the hat shone as it flew at Jarek, forcing him to block with his forearms, his skin being cut. Afterwards, he punched the hat away, but it recalled to Kung Lao, who swiftly put it back on, dashing forward and having a duel with Jarek, the two of them essentially trading punches and kicks with each other.

Tasia ran behind Kung Lao, kicking him in the back, right into Jarek, who socked him in the jaw, sending him tumbling to the side. She pulled out her second blade, tossing it at his head, but he was able to duck down, catching it midair as tossing it at Jarek, stabbing into his left hand. Getting up fast, he ran forward, taking his hat off and cutting her in the arm, punching her backwards and putting the hat back on, but then Jarek ran forward, delivering an axe kick to his shoulder, breaking out into a butterfly kick afterwards, sending the Shaolin rolling onto the floor.

"We are many, but you are one." Ermac said, floating through the air as he faced Sonya, his hood adjusting.

"Yeah? Well this one is about to kick your ass..." She replied snarkily.

Running forward, she delivered several jabs to his torso, grabbing his arm and tossing him over her shoulder, but he used his abilities to catch himself, flying at her upside down, their heads colliding, damaging her. Fixing his position, he concentrated, creating an energy ball of souls and firing it straight off into her stomach, sending her crashing onto the ground.

She got up fast, retaliating with a calf kick to his chest, but before she hit the floor after the attack, her legs wrapped around his waist, pulling her back up to meet with his eyes, delivering several punches to his face.

He grunted, using his power to force her off of him, slamming her back into one of the pillars around, pulling her back and copying her, doing an exact calf kick on her stomach, catching himself midair. He stood upright now, letting go of her with his telekinesis, his fists becoming engulfed in green energy.

"Get up." He said, eyes flashing.

Sonya got up, but then she shot her right arm forward at his nose, but he had caught it, instead punching her with a strong jab to the chin. As she fell to the ground, Ermac had used his telekinesis to slowly pull her body apart. He was taking his time, so that everyone could view it.

"Hey! Get the hell off of her!" Jax shouted, running forward and shoulder charging him, knocking him over and stopping his attack.

After he got back up, Kung Lao got a running start and swiftly delivered a bicycle kick to Jarek's chest, just like Liu Kang had done before, knocking him onto the ground. Tasia tried to attack again, but he used his hat's blade, cutting at her arms and once on the forehead, placing his hat back on and finishing the fight with a strong and fast strike straight into her gut, causing her to fell on top of Jarek.

"That should finish it." He said, tipping his hat as Tremor walked over with Kira, the two of them pulling their fellow members away from him.

He looked over, seeing Ermac concentrating and using his telekinesis on Jax's arms.

"These which you use to attack, fists should not belong to one such as yourself, Jackson Briggs!" He shouted, suddenly ripping his arms off.

The soldier cried out in pain, most of the people there being shocked from what had happened.

"The hell do you think you're doing!?" Kung Lao shouted out, running forward, tackling Ermac against the wall. After they had crashed into it, he jumped up, backflipping off of the soul being and tossing his hat while flipping through the air, the blades on his hat cutting his chest.

Ermac grunted, the hat returning to the warrior as she took on his stance.

"Hm... interesting... Kung Lao, is it? You'll be an interesting one, hopefully you've improved upon what your ancestor could not, as you are Earthrealm's last warrior... fight Ermac!" Shang Tsung shouted.

Sonya helped Jax stand, cauterizing his wounds. "Just hang on Jax... when this tournament is over, we'll try our best to fix you up as best we can!"

"Do you believe you can defeat us? We are many, and you are but a single monk..." Ermac said, his eyes flashing through his mask.

"Many huh? That's funny, but I only see one mummy in front of me. Now it's time to put you back in your tomb..." Kung Lao responded, running forward and punching Ermac in the chest before taking a kick to his side.

Liu Kang had entered the area, Hanzo coming in behind him.

"Events have happened earlier than expected..." He said to himself, walking over to Jax. Using his magic, he healed the soldier up as best he could, but could not restore his arms.

"Thank you... uhh..." Sonya was trying to say his name, but didn't really know.

"Liu Kang. The protector of Earthrealm... don't worry, Jackson Briggs will be fine, right now we need to focus on Kung Lao, as he is Earthrealm's final hope in this tournament..."

Hanzo walked over to Cyrax, "Cyrax... Lin Kuei..."

"Scorpion. You've changed..."

"I no longer go by Scorpion right now... simply call me Hanzo Hasashi. If you would, while this is going on, the god over there has asked if you would come with me to find Sub-Zero and his seemingly lover Sareena."

Cyrax took a few seconds to respond, but he agreed, the two of them walking off, Shang Tsung watching them with anger.

Kung Lao and Ermac were having a clash, and while the being tried using his soul sorcery to attack, Kung Lao focused his energy, manifesting a blue portal under him, his hat remaining on the floor, surprising his foe as he appeared behind him. Recalling his hat, he punched Ermac forward in the back, catching his hat before it landed on his head, slicing at his opponent rapidly in the back, blood emerging.

"You are not the only one who can TELEPORT!" Ermac shouted, vanishing into green energy, appearing behind Kung Lao, the two of them vanishing into more energy, Ermac suddenly appearing in the air upside down, holding Kung Lao, slamming his head into the floor.

After the slam, Kung Lao got up fast, his enemy firing a green beam of souls that moved like a zigzag, flying straight at him. He dodged it fast, tossing his hat with so much speed that it began to grind on his chest before returning. A push of telekinetic force was released from his body, stunning Kung Lao before using his energy to fly through the air, fists pointed outward, striking the monk with such force that he slammed into the wall, nearly breaking it.

"The time... for your end... is nearing..." Ermac said, but he was clearly tired.

Kung Lao grunted, using this to his advantage, one final move to end the match between them. Running forward, he grabbed his hat, spinning like a tornado, blue energy flowing off of him. He slammed right into Ermac, slicing at his body rapidly before putting his hat back on and grabbing him by the arm, using his other arm to deliver a powerful chop to Ermac's neck, causing him to be in great pain. Flipping him over his shoulder, he let out a strained shout, slamming Ermac down onto the ground on his stomach, delivering a final attack to his back, a dive kick, finishing the fight with that last move.

"The winner is... Kung Lao?! Interesting... he has definitely proven his worth... so now, he moves on to the second to last challenge! Kung Lao, you will face off against the very beast that killed your grandfather, Goro!"

"The hell's a Goro?" Johnny Cage questioned as he sat by Sonya and Jax.

"I am ready..." Kung Lao said, but in secret, Liu Kang healed him from a distance, using the blue energy he had released as a disguise for the healing beam. He felt it though, looking towards Liu Kang and nodding, as in he was saying thank you for the healing.

Shang Tsung, using his focus, generated a green portal, sending Kung Lao to the main area of Goro's Lair.

* * *

Meanwhile, Cyrax and Hanzo entered the garden, seeing Jade with Kotal, tending to Sub-Zero and Sareena's wounds.

"There they are... come on!" Hanzo Hasashi spoke, the two of them running over to meet up with them.

* * *

Kung Lao appeared in the lair of the beast, seeing skulls lying around, hearing the dripping of water, but not seeing his opponent.

"I did not believe I would have to fight in this tournament... but I guess the Shaolin produce one worthy of me every few centuries..."

Kung Lao turned, seeing a being that looked like a man, but was much larger. He had a muscular body with four arms and a black ponytail, wearing black underwear and a red belt with a yin and yang symbol on it.

"I'm not any Shaolin... my name is Kung Lao... Goro."

"Kung Lao? You mean like the Shaolin I had killed over 500 years ago..? Hmph, I'm guessing this means you may want vengeance, correct?"

"Of course, but I also desire to protect Earthrealm..."

"Then let us test your might!" Goro shouted, crushing a skull in one arm.

"Fine... Goro! Fight!" Kung Lao said simply, the two of them running towards each other, the ground shaking under Goro's feet. Kung Lao jumped into the air, their heads colliding with masterful force. The second to final fight of the tournament had begun.


	10. Chapter 9 - The End to the Tournament

Liu Kang looked down at Jax, who was lying on the ground in pain. He had remembered that Jax would get cybernetic arms, but he had a better idea.

"Sonya Blade. Can you bring me his arms and cauterize the wounds as well, so that no more blood may leak?" He said.

Sonya didn't know what he planned to do, but she walked over, grabbing the removed limbs. She began to seal the wounds, bringing them over to him. What he was about to do was going to be considered a miracle as he put the limbs next to where they were once attached to.

"What do you plan to do?" Johnny questioned.

Liu Kang didn't answer, instead, a blue and red light began to cover his palms. _"Not once have I tried this... but hopefully with the combined abilities of Raiden from the previous timeline and my newly advanced ones... it will work." _

He let out a shout, straining himself, but slowly, the arms began to reattach themselves to where they once stood, the bones being corrected along with the muscles. They were all shocked, even Shang Tsung, not knowing Liu Kang could do this as he repaired the limbs.

"Woah! How'd you do that!?" Cage wondered, being caught off guard by this limb repairing.

"It's a new technique I guess... as the guardian of Earthrealm..."

Then, the doors opened, Reptile, Rain, and Khameleon walking in, Shang Tsung noticing their arrival. However, he was not pleased with Reptile being with these two, as they were allies of the Fire God.

"Hey! It's that lizard guy!" Johnny said, pointing at him.

"My name is Reptile... or that is what I am called yes. I am not some 'lizard guy'..." He said, walking towards the movie star, staring at him, the two of them having a staredown, remembering their little fight at the start of the tournament.

"Do not be consumed by your small quarrel you two, we're allies now. Reptile, do you know where Kitana is?"

"She has returned to Outworld, she is the queen after all."

Rain walked forward, looking at Liu Kang. "What's going on Lord Liu Kang? As in, what is happening with the fighters, why are we all here and where are the others?"

"We're all here because... this is the end of the tournament. All of my hopes are placed within Kung Lao, as he now faces Goro within his lair. The Black Dragon have been defeated and Hanzo left with Cyrax to find Bi-Han, Sareena, and the others. I do not know where Sektor is, same with Baraka and anyone else who has gotten involved with this tournament."

Rain crossed his arms, looking at Shang Tsung, then at the others.

* * *

Goro and Kung Lao had begun their fight, the Shaolin warrior being knocked back from their clash of heads. His body lit up a blue color for a few seconds before he ran forward, striking his foe in the stomach once and then kneeing his thigh.

Goro grunted, but then he made a swift movement to pick Kung Lao up by the head, slamming him down into the ground before stomping on his foot, injuring him. Pulling his hat off though, he threw it through the air, slicing at Goro's chest, pulling it back and cutting his arms rapidly before jumping up to perform a bicycle kick, screaming out as he did so.

With a loud bellow, Goro delivered such a strong uppercut that Kung Lao was tossed upwards into the air. Using this, he grabbed his right foot, spinning and slamming him down into the stone, knocking a tooth out of his mouth and causing him to bleed. When the beast let go, his legs shot up, striking his chest. Goro stumbled backwards a bit, so the warrior got up fast, jumping onto him, his legs around his waist.

"HAAAA!" He shouted, rapidly striking him in the nose, eyes, and mouth, taking off his hat to cut across his forehead, kicking off of him afterwards.

Goro grunted with actual pain, Kung Lao was getting the upperhand, but he wasn't about to be bested by some Shaolin. Stomping his feet on the ground, he charged forward with so much force that he was able to pick Kung Lao up and drive him through at least two walls before tossing him down like a spiked volleyball when they ended up in an entirely new room, Kung Lao rolling across the floor in pain.

"You wanted a fight huh? Then you shall suffer more of a brutality than your ancestor!"

"Sorry... I don't think I'll be suffering at all, if anything, I'll be gaining."

Goro scowled, cracking his knuckles. "GAINING PAIN!" Those were his words before jumping into the air, kicking Kung Lao through the floor into a deeper level of the lair, punching him with all four arms, one punch for each fist, in the upper torso.

After being able to stand, he rose to his feet, grunting in pain, focusing as his eyes had flashed a bit of a bluish color. His power had begun to release itself more. His hat had power, power that he himself had all along, but was now beginning to tap into it throughout the rest of his body.

"For the original... for... KUNG LAO!" He shouted, running forward, a blue outline surrounding his body as he performed a high jump, delivering a faster bicycle kick to Goro's head, doing a spin midair to knock him to his side.

"This strength... what has become of you? You have grown..." Goro said whilst groaning, shaking his head.

"The Shaolin can possess power. The Fire God is a former monk and I have an ally who also studies in the art of flames. However, ever since I've gained this hat, it has possessed a unique power, and I guess that power has finally connected to my soul. Now... I end this!"

He jumped backwards before suddenly running forward, throwing his hat. It began to grind away at Goro's chest, leaving several cut marks before being recalled, landed right on his head at the same time that he jumped into the air, blue energy flying off of him when he struck Goro's jaw with a powerful bicycle kick, knocking him out and finishing the fight.

"There... now my ancestor's death has been avenged..."

* * *

Shang Tsung began to search for Kung Lao, feeling that it had ended. He did not know who won, but he was tracing their energies.

"There..." He said, creating a massive portal. No one came through.

He kept waiting, giving him 10 more seconds. Suddenly, Kung Lao appeared, emerging from the portal with a confident grin, running his fingers along the blade on his hat. "For the White Lotus."

The fighters for Earthrealm cheered him on, Shang Tsung being angered by this victory, but now was his time. He stood up, stretching.

"It has been quite a century since I have had to fight... but now you stand before me, Kung Lao! I am your final challenge!" He said, taking on a martial arts stance. The Black Dragon members had retreated for the time being, and all of the Outworld fighters were gone. Kotal ended up walking in with Jade, Cyrax, and Hanzo, carrying Sareena and Sub-Zero.

"Earthrealm's fighters have come together to witness this, the final challenge, Shang Tsung vs Kung Lao!" Liu Kang said.

"I will not hold back, I'm giving it my all for Earthrealm!" Kung Lao had shouted, walking forward, him and Shang Tsung moving in a circle, staring each other down.

"Then... FIGHT!"

Shang Tsung jumped into the air, his soul energy flowing through the air as he flew forward, letting out a sharp yelp before punching rapidly at him. Using his energy, he blasted Kung Lao into a pillar, breaking it before darting forward, sending a high kick up at him. His opponent blocked it, but he spun around, using his other leg to perform a low kick on Kung Lao's legs, attempting to trip him. It did hurt, but he did not fall, taking his hat off and focusing his newfound energy, blasting Shang Tsung through the air before tossing his hat, cutting his robe.

"Ngh... enough!" Tsung roared out, his body beginning to change. He was shapeshifting, but Liu Kang suddenly recognized his form.

"Shao Kahn..."

"Kahn? Isn't that Kitana's title?" Kotal asked of him.

Emerging from green smoke, Shang Tsung stood at 6'5, having an extremely muscular body with a shogun helmet, his face exposed though, the upper part of his head being of a maroon color, his eyes looking like a snake. His arms were draconic, also being a dark maroon color with spikes on them, eyes glowing red as well.

"Come Kung Lao... let us see if you are worthy to become the champion!"

Kung Lao ran forward, punching at Shang Tsung, now known as Shao Kahn in this form, making him stumble back a bit before being uppercutted, knocked through the air.

"HAAA!" He shouted, creating a green hammer out of energy, similarly to Nightwolf, running forward and striking Kung Lao once in the jaw before picking him up by the leg, throwing him upwards and slamming the hammer into his back.

Liu Kang began to get worried he would lose, but he had trust in his ally, his fellow Shaolin.

Before Shao Kahn could strike once more, Kung Lao created a blue portal with his energy, flowing through it and ending up behind his opponent, attacking him with rapid strikes. He was knocked back by a strong elbow movement, but in another release of his new energy, he put both hands forward, a blue ball of power striking Shao Kahn in the upper torso, knocking him forward.

"What is this newfound power of yours... Kung Lao?"

"Don't know, must have something to do with the hat." He said, grinning.

"A hat does not grant one power like that... I will find out after reaping your soul!" Shao Kahn said, his regular Shang Tsung voice being able to be heard for just a bit.

"You're a soul stealer, but you will not have mine, you'll only reap your own soul!"

Blue energy began to surround Kung Lao as him and Shao Kahn ran towards each other, both shouting, their fists colliding once before their knees slammed together. Both of their heads slammed together, but the fight was ready to end, a blue aura forming around Kung Lao as he reeled his right arm backwards, screaming before thrusting his fist right through the armor, damaging Shao Kahn so badly that he returned to his Shang Tsung form, falling onto his back, grunting in pain.

Kung Lao was panting, bruised. The fight took a lot out of him as the blue energy dissipated. Liu Kang smiled, remembering what happened to Kung Lao in the previous timeline. Seeing him defeat the form of the being known as Shao Kahn makes him happy.

"Did he just... win?" Johnny thought, pointing at Kung Lao with surprise.

Shang Tsung grunted, not wanting to believe it, but he had to, coughing up a bit of blood.

"Kung Lao... is the champion?" He said.

Then, it was decided. Kung Lao had won the tournament for Earthrealm. His desire to win for Earthrealm and prove himself had released this newfound power within his body, the power of his soul, not simply the energy residing in the hat.

Liu Kang walked over to Shang Tsung, picking him up by the robe, "Where did you get that form from!?"

"An outworld general known as Shao! He once served Onaga, the original ruler... I found his soul while wandering the realm once within his corpse in a cavern. That's all!"

Liu Kang dropped Shang Tsung, scoffing at him. "Even in a new timeline... your relation to him doesn't cease."

The sorcerer didn't know what he meant, but now was not the time for this, now was a time for celebration. The tournament was finally over. Shang Tsung grunted, retreating, going to find his warriors so they could return.

"You're the man!" Jax said, patting Kung Lao on the back as everyone congratulated him.

"Yes, he is... now, Kung Lao, we will hold a ceremony for you at the Wu Shi Academy. We should all depart now. I'd advise for all of you to come with, if you do not wish to though, I will not force you."

Most of them had agreed to come, except for a few. Reptile looked over, "Thank you for the offer, but now, we must return to our home. Me and Khameleon. For our people, as I have not seen them in quite a while."

"I will not be joining you either. I must go now, to rediscover myself now that I've been returned to humanity and freed from Quan Chi." Hanzo spoke.

"As will we. Kotal and I will be going to his people, the Osh-Tekk, now that this is all well and done. We'd like to stay, but we reject." Jade said, bowing to Liu Kang.

"That is fine. All of you. Now, for those of you who wish to come, the ceremony is in three days, so you have time to prepare. Sub-Zero, Cyrax, I believe it is best for both of you to come with me instead of waiting for the three days. If you return, you know the fate that will befall you."

Sub-Zero nodded before saying, "Then perhaps it is time to say goodbye to the Lin Kuei for now. I will be leaving behind me the name Sub-Zero, so call me Bi-Han."

Liu Kang nodded. He walked over to Kung Lao, giving him a silent nod. With the end of the tournament, Kung Lao, Cyrax, Liu Kang, Bi-Han, and Rain had decided to go together to the Wu Shi Academy, where Raiden was awaiting for his Shaolin warrior to return, not expecting the other four.

* * *

Shang Tsung returned to Outworld with the fighters, where Kitana was waiting for him.

"Your tournament failed. It is over Shang Tsung..."

"I know... Kitana Kahn... Outworld will no longer try to merge-"

"That's nothing to say..." A grisly voice spoke, a small chain rattling. Kitana and Shang Tsung turned, seeing a muscular figure emerging from the dark corners, having a black and red robe. His face was torn, his eyes being a pale white and his lower face being skull-like, wearing a metal helmet with a black ponytail.

"You just need to gather more fighters." The figure said simply, chuckling, a cold breath escaping his jaw.

* * *

The next day, after Raiden had gotten acquainted with everyone else, Kung Lao was out training on the main arena for the academy. As he trained himself, an African-American man was walking over, wearing red and silver armor. He had brown dreadlocks with facial hair.

"Kung Lao! I have returned!" He said, taking on a stance.

"Huh? Kai? Is that you?"

Kung Lao thought, facing him, "Yes. I received word of your victory, and being I wasn't too far away, I decided to journey here the other night to visit, maybe even stay as well, after all, now I have an improved sparring partner..."

"Right. I won't disappoint you Kai..." Kung Lao said, taking on a stance of his own. Ever since the tournament ended, he has been trying to tap into his blue energy, but couldn't tap into the extraordinary power that got him the win.

"You better not!" Kai said, grinning a bit as flames formed around his fists.

* * *

"Why has Bi-Han not returned yet?" A voice said, walking through a field in the daylight. "The tournament has concluded, yet he nor Cyrax have come back."

"Calm yourself Tundra. You heard Sektor, they have become traitors."

The two figures were Lin Kuei warriors. One donned a grey and black garb, having a hood and mask similar to Bi-Han, whilst the other had an outfit that looked really close to Bi-Han's, the only difference being that he had more gear and the blue coloring was more of a light, glacial blue color.

"I know Smoke, but that means he's still alive... we need to go find him!"

"But do you know if he'll even be on the island? Besides, wouldn't going away be treason to the orders of the grandmaster?" Smoke said.

"If it's treason, then so be it. My brother is missing, and so is Cyrax. On top of that, the Cyber Initiative had begun the other night, an operation that I know not many of us want, even you. So perhaps we could go against orders now if our heart tells us to do just that!"

Smoke wanted to say something, but Tundra was right. So he agreed. But then, a green portal appeared in front of them, Ermac emerging.

"Lin Kuei... you two have been located as you are elites in your clan. We invite you to a tournament, a second one taking place within Outworld..."

"What? A second tournament? Who are-" Tundra was going to question, but Smoke had stopped him.

"This might be the perfect opportunity. Perhaps we will find your brother there, and this will also help us get away from the cyberization going on within our clan."

Tundra looked down, then at Ermac, "When will it be?"

"Two days from now... taking place within Outworld. It is best to travel now for you..." He said.

The two warriors nodded as Ermac retreated into the portal, closing it afterwards. Now they had an idea of what to do, heading off to find a way into Outworld.


	11. Chapter 10 - Bad or Good News?

The previous day.

* * *

Havik, the skull-faced warrior, walked out before Kitana, cracking his neck. Then, emerging from other doors, two figures entered. An African-American man with a black beard, gold sunglasses, and black and orange gear. The other was a man with tanned skin and a black ponytail, having a red symbol on his head with a green and brown robe.

"Kitana Kahn. Shang Tsung. All of you. Meet my associates, Darrius and Dairou, members of the Orderrealm that I have recruited."

"Recruited? For what? There will be nothing to recruit for."

"Are you serious? This is exactly why I am here, because soon enough, they'll be calling me Havik Kahn. That... doesn't sound good, but it'll be my title."

Kitana stood up, pulling out her fan blades, walking forward from her throne.

"Rule Outworld? That's what you intend to do? You won't be able to so long as I'm around!"

She signaled to Baraka and Reiko, members of her army of course, to attack. Dairou ran forward as they came, attacking Baraka with a flurry of strikes. Reiko tried to help his ally, but Darrius jumped in, blades emerging from his wrist guards, "Not so fast general."

The four of them went off in their own fight, Kitana attacking Havik, the two of them getting into a clash of their own. He was able to dodge some of her hits, but she landed a few of them, same with his case.

"You'll regret not giving me the throne willingly!" He shouted, pulling out a golden amulet, a green jewel sitting within it.

"Is that... Shinnok's amulet!? But he died long ago..."

"Shinnok? Oh... you mean the one who crafted this. You see, Quan Chi had hired the Lin Kuei to steal it from the resting place of Shinnok, a while back, not too long ago. Him and I had allied not long after that, and I discovered the amulet in his possession. Shinnok is dead yes, but this amulet still enhances power greatly, and on top of that..."

Suddenly, a gold and purple light emerged from the amulet, wrapping around Kitana, straining her body as it slowly pulled her in. It was also straining Havik surprisingly, but he went ahead with it, suddenly sealing Kitana away inside of the green jewel.

"There... Kitana Kahn... for now at least... IS NO MORE!" He shouted, holding up the amulet while walking towards the throne. He put his arm down, placing the amulet on his chest like a medallion, sitting on her former throne.

"I will now rule Outworld... and we will do one thing... a request to the Earthrealmers... to replace the system of 10, we will do one final tournament... even if that fails though, I have other plans... though, we will wait three days, so that we can recruit plenty of fighters for Outworld. Shang Tsung, you shall stand by my side... as there are plenty we need to recruit..."

Darrius, Reiko, Dairou, and Baraka had stopped their fighting when they saw Kitana being sealed away, realizing that now, Havik truly had claimed the throne.

"I know of many. A gunslinger within Outworld, he works for payment. The Lin Kuei, who Quan Chi had hired not long ago, and demons from within the Netherrealm, where I was when Quan Chi and I aligned with each other. Then we must recruit the shokan warriors and anyone else we can find. Shang Tsung, lead me to your Well of Souls, Quan Chi had informed me of its existence. I shall perform an act you could not without this amulet of mine."

Shang Tsung liked this new king, he was better than Kitana, as it seemed the two of them shared a goal. So, he lead Havik to the Well of Souls, opening a portal back to his island.

* * *

As the two of them appeared at the Well of Souls, Havik walked forward, holding the amulet out to it. Slowly, it began to pull plenty of souls from the well, and suddenly, he moved the amulet to Shang Tsung, forcing all of them into him, slowly restoring him to his youth, so he'd be in his prime.

"There..." Havik said, his arm a bit burnt. "You will serve me well now..."

Shang Tsung smirked, his black hair flowing as he bowed to Havik. "Right... we will take Earthrealm... for ourselves."

"Good... but I have an idea for a fighter... you know that girl you have, the red one?"

"Skarlet?"

"Yes. Your flesh pits, where you created others, could you create another fighter? Using her as a template, could you make us another warrior?" Havik questioned, putting the amulet back on his chest.

"I... yes... I could. I'll get on it right away. I can send Reiko and the others to do the recruiting while I'm working." The sorcerer answered, standing up again.

"Good. Get to work please." Havik said, a boney grin growing on his face as he walked away, leaving Shang Tsung to his devices.

* * *

Now, present day, it was time for Kung Lao's ceremony. Everyone had gathered, and the moon was out. Cyrax and Bi-Han watched, alongside Sareena. Liu Kang was overseeing the thing, Jax, Sonya, and Johnny being beside him. Rain was also there, next to Johnny and Kai. Other fighters for Earthrealm had not come along, fighters like Kenshi and Raiden, who could not attend as he went to find Kung Lao's main master, Bo' Rai Cho.

"So it's all done now huh? You've told us that Earthrealm is safe now, we can't be taken through another tournament." Jax said.

"It would take 10 more tournaments now. But with Kung Lao, I trust that we shall remain on top." Liu Kang said.

"Lord Liu Kang, do you believe that things really will be alright?" Rain questioned, watching the monks with Kung Lao.

He thought about it, but then, Shang Tsung was walking forward, now looking more youthful than ever. Dairou was following along behind him, alongside Darrius.

"Hey! Look at us!" Darrius demanded, Dairou hitting him a bit.

"Let Shang Tsung speak for us." Dairou said, crossing his arms.

Liu Kang, Jax, Rain, and the others there turned to face them.

"Shang Tsung! What are you doing here!?" Bi-Han demanded, walking towards him with anger.

"Bi-Han! Stop! What do you want sorcerer?" Liu Kang said, looking him in the eyes.

"I have a proposal... a tournament, to replace the system of 10. One tournament to decide it all. If Earthrealm wins, we will not compete in anymore tournaments with it. Do you accept?"

"Hey, you won't accept, you'll dish him off right?" Johnny said to the Fire God.

"Where is Kitana? Did she allow this?"

"Kitana is no longer in power! Now, Havik is the king." Dairou exclaimed.

Liu Kang was caught off guard. Kitana was defeated? By... Havik? And how did it happen? Now he wanted to deny the tournament, but he had two things in his mind. He needed to find out what happened to Kitana, and on top of that, he remembered that if he denies this request, Shang Tsung will attack the academy with an army of tarkatans. But seeing Dairou and Darrius, what if the attack is bigger? Did Havik recruit more people? He didn't want to risk anything, so he nodded.

"Fine... Elder Gods! Hear me out! I accept the offer of Havik and Shang Tsung! A tournament to replace the system of 10, to decide the fate of Earthrealm!"

Suddenly, as Kung Lao's ceremony was finishing up, the sky began to light up, exploding as a white light fired out, striking Liu Kang, the Elder Gods responding to him.

"What was that?" Kung Lao said, running off from where he was, headed to the area where the others were.

"Excellent... the tournament will be held in Outworld, Havik's request. You fight on OUR land. We shall see you there..." Shang Tsung said, leaving with Dairou and Darrius.

"Lord Liu Kang! What happened!" Kung Lao shouted, running up to them.

Kai looked towards Kung Lao, "Apparently, the Fire God accepted a new offer. Another tournament. If they win, they get Earthrealm. If we win, they leave it alone, forever."

Kung Lao was a little wary, but his confidence overcame him. "That's fine. We'll just beat them down again."

"Don't underestimate them Kung Lao... now, we'll all leave to fight in the morning, we won't be going tonight, since the night is nearly over. Prepare, all of you. I should stay here when you leave though, to wait and inform Bo' Rai Cho and Raiden when they return, as it'll most likely be soon."

"Wait. You're just gonna send us to another tournament, alone?" Johnny said.

"It'll be fine. Together, fighting for Earthrealm, you are all strong. So no matter how many opponents you'll face, if you work together, you'll win. Though, I will find someone to help you. The God of Wind, Fujin. He'll accompany you all, but I assume like me, he cannot participate as one of our fighters, just as a helper. But, we will call forth Reptile for assistance, and anyone he has with him. That's all." Liu Kang said.

With that, everyone decided that it was indeed time to get some rest and prepare, so they did just that.

* * *

Scorpion, now Hanzo Hasashi, wandered a mountain-like area, returning to somewhere from his past. The past home of the Shirai Ryu, his now deceased clan. He had believed that, in order to truly make peace with his mind and forget the sins of the past, he would visit the old home of his clansmen, having an idea.

Now that he had been restored to his humanity, Hanzo had the idea to restore his clan, to rebuild it as the new leader.

"It'll take work... but I can do it..." He said, tightening his golden headband. Then, at that same time, a portal had opened up behind him, Skarlet walking out of it.

"Scorpion... I demand your attention!" She said.

He slowly turned to face her, scoffing, "Servant of Shang Tsung... I am no longer Scorpion, or rather, no longer the one you knew. What do you want with me?" He said with an angered tone.

"There will be another tournament for Earthrealm, you are requested to be of the fighters for Earthrealm, as Outworld is gathering forces for itself. The tournament will replace the original system. Winner takes all essentially..." She said, fixing the bangs of her dark red hair.

Hanzo did not like the idea at first, but then again, if Earthrealm were to lose, blood would simply begin to stain the ground, and he would not be able to rebuild his clan. So he had to do whatever it takes.

"When?"

"Tomorrow. You should journey to find Liu Kang, as he can escort you there, along with several other fighters for Earthrealm." Skarlet replied. "Now... I bid you farewell, Hanzo." She said, waving before walking through the portal. As she left, it closed behind her, and as the moonlight shone down over the mountain, he decided that he would have to leave.

* * *

Sonya was walking off to get some rest now that the ceremony had concluded. She needed it if they were going to leave in the morning. Then, at the same time, Johnny came over to her.

"Hey! Sonya! I wanted to ask you something."

"What is it Cage? I'd like to get some sleep."

"Since you're a part of some sort of like, special unit, do you have any backup who are trained in good combat that could possibly help us out? We might need a lot of muscle you know? Wonder flames looked a little worried, or a little nervous to say yes." He said.

"Special Forces. And yes, I do know a few. There's one person, who mainly hangs around New York City, but he is an ally, named Kurtis Stryker. I believe he also has a new partner who could be of use. I'll call them up before I get some sleep. Now you should also sleep superstar." She said, and after giving him an answer, she walked off to find a comfortable bed.

Johnny chuckled, "She called me superstar. She's digging me more and more."

* * *

Finally, Shang Tsung had sent Baraka to recruit an Outworld bandit, a mercenary.

He came to the den of the mercenary, wielding plenty of cash in his hands, throwing it all on the ground. From the shadows, he emerged.

A gunslinger with long, brown hair and a hat reminiscent of a cowboy. He had a face-mask with a red cape and a brown and black suit, covered in gear.

"Woah... you looking to hire toothface?" He said, holding onto his gun, being serious while making his remark.

Baraka growled, "Watch your tone Erron Black... this is to hire you for a tournament, to compete for Outworld..." Baraka said.

"A tournament huh? Can I use my guns to kill?"

"Why else would we hire a mercenary..?"

"Then it's a darn good deal for me... I'll accept this offer..." Erron Black, the gunslinger, said. He walked forward, taking the cash, placing it within a stash of his. "Take me to your boss man, okay chomps a lot?" He said to Baraka, clearly mocking him now. The tarkatan warrior began to despise him, but he brought him along, taking the mercenary to Havik and the sorcerer.


End file.
